knowing now that things can and do go wrong
we grow old grateful
for those few that are left so far unspoilt
aware, having to live again
and again past pain
that they can rot
and, given the nature of this world,
will.
pruned by the vagaries of a path and brought
as at this moment
to a tart and welcome fruit,
I, enduring, acknowledge
here and now
the courtesy of providence.
the bitterness of the rind
the sweetness of an orange