Words from a Child.

MY GIFT

 

Johnny Cash taking ten

acrylic paint on canvas by Robert Margetts

In lands long ago

I with fortune chose to look away.

To the thirsty, I poured my water onto the ground.

To the hungry, I nibbled till I exceeded my fill.

To the sad, I shared my joy with those who laughed until it hurt.

To the hemophiliacs that so desperately needed a transfusion,

 I could not donate a drop of my precious blood

to prolong the life of an innocent child.

To the cancer victim who would never know the

excitement of turning twenty

or walking down the aisle with a young bride,

I would not offer a scrap of my bone marrow.

To my only brother,

lying in a bed hooked to a dialysis machine

slowly withering away before the age of forty,

I darned not offer one kidney.

And to my wife

Who believed in me for so many years,

fought my battles, defended me to all her friends

and fell in total love for another man,

I could not give her the one gift that she wanted.

Her freedom from me!