Life’s a gift
Of course that’s true:
Delivered new as a baby’s skin.
But it’s a gift we never asked to get,
Some take no joy or pleasure in.
But what’s the gift this life gives us
Is it beating, consciousness, breaths?
Is it step after step?
A sunrise each day?
Or excitement, full
With no regrets?
The gift isn’t finished
When it starts
It’s not complete and ready-to-use.
It’s instruction-free
No return policy
But one we know we can’t lose
Those of us with curious minds
Whose brains like a problem to chew
Want to know what on Earth this gift’s about
What’s the deal?
Go on life-give us a clue
We look around amongst us all:
We all have this gift you see,
Identifying those happy with their lot
How’d they unwrap it?
What’s the key?
It’s firstly hard to tell just what they’ve done
Because each person’s story’s their own.
One thing is true:
They all seem calm,
And not gazing blankly into their phone
They seem to look up,
And out and around.
Their faces open,
Ready,
Engaged.
The ones who seem to have unlocked the gift
Have a distinct absence of rage
We know everyone’s different
But these happy folk
Seem to bring something to the table
The key thing is that they’re bringing,
Gifting a skill that they’ve enabled
They’ve cracked the code
They’ve searched outwards and found
That the gift lies within their heart
It’s the value that they can bring to the world
Whether being kind or good at art
How they’ve found it
Well that’s the thing,
The funny bit about this tale.
It’s normally because they’ve found what they love
Through a massive great big fail
An expert, you see, is someone who
Has made ALL of the mistakes
But who learned each time
What not to do.
And took ownership of their own fate
And through every fail
The gift’s unlocked
Gradually unwrapped for all to see
The value,
The skill,
The potential:
The true opportunity
You see, through every fail
They stand. Resilient, if a little bruised
And they celebrate the new stuff
They now get to know
The learning they’ll now get to use
The gift’s within all of us
Our talent, our skill, our thing.
Go out there, try stuff,
make sense of your world,
gifting the value you can bring
And when you find it
You’ll definitely know
It won’t be polished
it’ll just feel right.
The opportunity
To fulfil potential
Is the true gift of life
Alison McIntosh June 2019
Contemporary Poetry: A Snapshot in Time 