The Measure of A Life - poem

i remember

the travesties i have wrecked

upon others and the world

there was a bird

that i shot for sport

that i regret when i was trying

to understand hunting

there were the chickens

that i forgot to water and feed

who died in the heat

there was the unkind comment

that i made so many times

and didn't even know it

the way i listened to fear

and had barriers around my own heart

those moments and so many more

i counterbalance with that

which i have learned

the time i showed up

to help a friend bury her cat

the time i saved that bird

and my friends called me

the bird man of vallarta

the time i gave

to those who were in need

and the time i listened

to those who needed listening

the times i acted from my heart

so many times, so that i could help

others and help myself

thankfully

i have moved towards love

because we are social creatures

we move towards love

the measure of a life

of how fully and well it was lived

is how far one progresses

from unskillfulness

to skillfulness