Life Lines Poem for OBAA

I was told

"America seems sweet on top, 

But what's sweet on the surface,

is often rotten underneath"

But they told us that 

we could do anything 

if we worked hard,

and treated others with respect

True power comes from

focusing

on what we can give

not just on what we can take

The day comes in each of our lives 

when those around us are asked to testify

and to tell what kind of character

we have demonstrated in our past

For even

the most horrifying memories

are you

And they along with the good memories,

are your life

What one does in youth

one often regrets in old age

So beware

Of the gifts that we can give, 

the greatest is to see beauty

in each other-in essence,

to give beauty to each other.