Life is heavy
my burden
I'll lighten
taking all things easy-
tears there are
too many
humbly
quietly
I accept
still free
to live
meaningfully

dark moments
don't scare me
they come
they dissipate
whatever
the misery
I've borne
such courageously

joys there are
in between
so lightly
so gently
I hold them
knowing well
their ephemerality

time
the eternal sentinel
watches nonchalantly
our human condition
it neither feels
nor does it pity

I walk alone
I don't complain
despite my pain-
in self-emptying
I find my final victory