with ease,
we experience weakness
and harden our small hearts,
we forget what matters most
and are lost before we start.

with pain,
we endure suffering
and the hits of hurled stones,
we retreat to what we know
and never examine our aching bones.

with grace,
we try to forgive
and we polish off our souls,
we accept things we can’t change
and work on the half instead of the whole.

with love,
we let go of debts unpaid
and grudges we tightly held,
we pick up pieces and open doors
and calm the tides that swelled.

© Conor J. Josten