Vol. 4, No. 2• May 2000

Life's Most Precious Gifts
by Kenneth Thomas

Replaceable things, like houses and cars,
Fill our minds with dreams and our eyes with stars,
While unique blessings such as family and friends
Are taken for granted until they end.
Love is the element we most desperately need,
But our struggle for money is what we give heed.

Life is most precious to those out of time,
Yet carelessly wasted by those who are blind
To how swiftly time passes, how soon we grow old,
How quickly life leaves us when we lose our hold
On the matters most vital to everyday life
Like the hope in a child or the love of a wife.

To throw life away in one heartbreaking beat
Is no more tragic than letting it speed
Through year after year of refusing to see
That life's most precious gifts are you and me.
Happiness is the jewel we find
Only when we are willing to be kind.

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families