Three things I learned from my very first breath:
However well you do; next time you must do better yet.
Do exactly as I say, but don’t you dare do what I do.
Children must not speak unless they are spoken to.
Three things I learned as a child where no harbour was safe:
That being the case, I always did what I could to escape.
I excelled in responsibilities often well beyond my years.
I took my beatings without flinching but not without tears.
Three things I learned just before I became a man:
I became more lost and more scared, the harder I ran.
Every opportunity presented to me just seemed to shatter.
I had to regard my poor choices and how much they matter.
Three things I learned making my way in a life full of danger:
How could my body ever fail me?! I was an Airborne Ranger!
I became strong, and hard, and competent, and crazed.
Things had to change or I’d be consumed by my inner rage.
Three things I learned as a father, a husband, and lover.
My life works out best, when I don’t sound like thunder.
What I want and what’s likely, right now, may not match.
Hold your loves tightly, until that final visit from ol’ Scratch.
Three things I learned so far, racing toward my demise:
The past got me to now and can never, ever be revised.
The future isn’t mine to discern, divine, or even dissect.
All I own is this precious moment, and hopefully the next.