Jane Perry is my favorite poet. Although I love many of her poems, my favorite is "Success."
SUCCESS
Think of the days you have lost to defeat.
They are as dead leaves on a plant. Snip them.
The roots are alive awaiting the water
from your hand that new growth will emerge,
for life must flow through you, not to you.
Remember when young how each day was adventure?
The sun never rose soon enough and why did it set?
Then one morning it rose too soon and set too late.
You were adult, 'grown up,' but in ways regressed.
Each morning should find you aglow with the chance
of testing your courage and moving ahead
to that goal which may seem as far away as youth.
If sorrow and pain knock you down, know that
joy and pleasure are bought with these coins.
When tired and sure that life has bypassed you,
take another glance. It is then that wisdom,
sweetness of soul, and inward peace will be yours.
The tools for creating a masterpiece of life are here.
You are the artist. Success will depend on your faith.
And what should success look like?
Success is vivid, colored with bright hues
brought about by the power of you to rule yourself.
When you want friendship, it is with you.
When you desire love, it enwraps you.
When you seek wealth, it enfolds you.
Your masterpiece has balance and design
brought about by your hand which has placed
all that you experience in proper proportion.
The focal point is clear, past worries do not appear.
Your masterpiece has feeling, a soul that radiates
and harmonizes with the exterior, greater self,
for it is that strength which moves other men.
That is success. That is yours.
That is what you are about.
They are as dead leaves on a plant. Snip them.
The roots are alive awaiting the water
from your hand that new growth will emerge,
for life must flow through you, not to you.
Remember when young how each day was adventure?
The sun never rose soon enough and why did it set?
Then one morning it rose too soon and set too late.
You were adult, 'grown up,' but in ways regressed.
Each morning should find you aglow with the chance
of testing your courage and moving ahead
to that goal which may seem as far away as youth.
If sorrow and pain knock you down, know that
joy and pleasure are bought with these coins.
When tired and sure that life has bypassed you,
take another glance. It is then that wisdom,
sweetness of soul, and inward peace will be yours.
The tools for creating a masterpiece of life are here.
You are the artist. Success will depend on your faith.
And what should success look like?
Success is vivid, colored with bright hues
brought about by the power of you to rule yourself.
When you want friendship, it is with you.
When you desire love, it enwraps you.
When you seek wealth, it enfolds you.
Your masterpiece has balance and design
brought about by your hand which has placed
all that you experience in proper proportion.
The focal point is clear, past worries do not appear.
Your masterpiece has feeling, a soul that radiates
and harmonizes with the exterior, greater self,
for it is that strength which moves other men.
That is success. That is yours.
That is what you are about.
What is success? Success is relative. It means different things to different people. However, everyone would agree that success include the following: freedom from fear, worry, anxiety, frustration, failure and poverty; the acquisition of personal happiness, health, joy, peace of mind, love, self-respect, family accord and financial security.
Success is also the accomplishment of desired goals through the exploitation of creative abilities. It is the favourable termination of anything attempted. It means gaining from life that which you most desire.
With love and appreciation,
Robert Malugu
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