A Quarter

….. A Brief Contemplation on my 25th Birthday …..

Today I have lived exactly for a quarter of a century
And yet,
I have neither said nor done a quarter of the things I should’ve said and done
Haven’t even had a quarter as many good intentions as I should’ve had
Have neither known nor understood a quarter of the things I should’ve known and understood
Haven’t even learned a quarter of what’s out there to be learned
Have neither achieved nor been close to achieve a quarter of something admirable to be proud of
Haven’t even had the courage to decide what’s worth fighting for
Have neither touched nor changed a quarter as many lives as I would love to
Haven’t even given a quarter of kindness I should’ve been able to give
And haven’t even healed a quarter as many wounds as I planned to
In short,
I haven’t truly lived a quarter of even a quarter-full life

But then,
It doesn’t take me a quarter of a second to realize
I have definitely laughed more than a quarter of my share of laughing
Have loved more than a quarter of my share of loving
Have been loved way beyond a quarter of my share of being loved
Basically,
I have truly had much more than a quarter of my share of truly living
And,
Even though I may have had more than a quarter of my share of regrets,
They have forced me to see more than a quarter of my share of insights I would otherwise have never seen
Even though I may have done more than a quarter of my share of crying,
The tears I’ve shed were not even a quarter as heavy as those shed by others
So, I guess
Even though I’m not at all a quarter done
I have actually had a quarter of a century worth smiling about

15 Mar 74 – 15 Mar 99
(8 Mar 21:15 – 11 Mar 12:25)