Making the Best of Life--By Jean Calkins--United States

Making the Best of Life

I am a captive of choices
    I have made.
No tears remain; I’ve shed them all.
    I live afraid
of years ahead, when darkness falls
    on ailing eyes.
My step has slowed, the aches and pains
    I realize
are with me till my long days end,
    as they have been
for countless years. There’s no relief
    from wisest men.
But I will walk my destined path
    assured that God
is watching every step I take
    though it be flawed.

Jean, at 82, has been writing poems since she was 18. For 25 years she published a popular poetry quarterly of up to 100 pages, with a subscribership of nearly 500. Illness in 1986 ended the magazine. She currently publishes, by email, a 2-page monthly of clean humor. Contact her at joker31277@yahoo.com