Luck

Many kinds of fortunes;
kinds of luck
and, certainly, kinds of fate,
not one that we can control.

One part of getting old is recognition:
Who did, who said, and the conditions,
impacts, both good and bad.

What if? What if?

The curses. The blame. The avoidance.
That is how it does.

Then the plane you had to miss
on a flight gone down.
Were you lucky or were you not?
Nobody knows.

Most things that you fear are as nothing.
Then, of course, you die.
That much, at least, you understand.

Age calls the shots.
Everyone good or bad the same.

All gain, once thought so important
is lost,
is completely lost,
like the cigarette you started to smoke,
and then just tossed.…

all is lost
except for having once lived and, perhaps, been loved.