Blessed

I am aware I am blessed
with physical comforts,
emotional health,
financial stability.

In creeps the guilt,
eating away at the gratitude, 
taking up residence in my gut.

I am aware of the suffering of others--
physical ailments,
mental illnesses,
financial issues. 

The mother and grandmother whose
body is giving up on her 
before her spirit is ready.

The husband, father, and grandfather who
cares for her, his spirit dwindling
before his body is ready.

The sisters, daughters, and mothers who
strain under the pressures of life,
holding on to that single thread that
seems to be holding it all together. 

The homeless men at the interstate exit,
begging for spare change, 
at the mercy of the generosity of others.

It doesn't matter how any of them got there.
They are suffering, 
and I don't have the answers. 



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