The Age I Am Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Who I am.
Standing on my own two feet.
Done to do the best I can.
With the hand I have been dealt.
And still able to maneuver through ups and downs.
Manipulating my steps facing snarls and frowns.
Not to remember,
One embrace to erase and eliminate...
Frustrations, disappointments that brought heartache.
Or hearing it say, "It will be okay."

No one,
Has to tell me about keeping faith.
Or what it takes to stay determined.
Especially,
When I have lived.
Recuperating from mistakes made.
To become the age I am.
And doing it done not to blame anyone.
Or care what it is people may think.
Neither had I made it known,
What God has already shown and proven.
Advice from others with their druthers.
I am not seeking that from them to need.
Maybe many years ago,
That might have been so.
But today?
At the age I am.
I find I do give more,
Than a just damn for the life...
God has blessed me to live.