by Michael Plante

It is a fine table I sit at
topped with integrity, honor, and love.
Family and friends surround this table
all have contributed to the success of its beauty.
We smile and laugh
tears that were held in the heart are released
the joys of life are revealed unrestricted.

It is a fine day I live
for I have ten fingers and ten toes
the compassion of a grandmother I carried a long way
she was my teacher of life.
Unconditional was her trait 
as was her love.

It is a fine life I have lived
fortuitous in nature and not by design.
The architect of reason was my mother
who taught me to swim up a river
for the strength of a soul would be revealed
and from that, blessings of life received.

It is a better world I leave behind
for my words of love, and my heart has contributed
a small area where those who are sagacious
arrive in peace and splendor.
And for those that ascend
may the world I leave behind find them cause
that rises their instinct of justice and wellbeing,
so they too can contribute to a better world.

I have lived a full life
I have no regrets.