Life is Golden

©2010 Susan Noyes Anderson (poem only)

Are we condemned to take our lives for granted?
Must loss be felt (or feared) before the joy?
Does gratitude grow stale when goodness gathers,
when all is well with every girl and boy?

Is friendship priceless in a close-knit circle,
or must its worth be found in solitude?
For childish noise and clamor to be treasured,
must one dear voice be taken from the brood?

Can married love be valued in full measure
before one partner yields at last to death?
Must we abide disease, our bodies broken,
in order to appreciate each breath?

It’s true that opposition is the agent
that helps us mark the bitter and the sweet.
The trials must come; will we store them so deeply
that we forfeit the prize of their receipt?

Or will we use them to embrace thanksgiving,
to claim one joy against another pain?
Will sorrow plant delight for tender mercies?
Will rainbow hues endure beyond the rain?

The choice is yours and mine, as are the blessings,
bright gems that we may seek and recognize.
Don’t wait till it’s too late, for life is golden.
The proof is sparkling right before our eyes.

Related Poems:

Thanks Be to God Loving the Land The Bright Side Passing Place