I have made it
to the two year mark,
thankful. I made it with a wife
who was the light out of the dark place
where I was not sure I could go on.
The chem doctor says "Two years is key
though for three, we'll watch carefully
and then free you to fly on your own at five."
I've learned compassion, to suffer with,
because now I have enough
suffering of my own to begin
to hear, to understand, to relate, though
no two sufferings are the same.
I've learned humility, painfully, bumped
off the place of privilege
that an 800 lb gorilla mind carries.
I now see sometimes where it sat
was on me and my relationships.
I've had a rainbow of guides through a place
where there are travelers
but no natives; caravans in fact
because solo travelers
seldom thrive.
Though insurance picked up
most of the bills, I can pay more
in the coin of the realm: in thanks,
in good news, in being a success story
where not all
are so successful.