Hell Spiced Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

I 'use' to be in the fifth grade.
And I remember junior high.

I remember enlisting into the military.
And that was in nineteen sixty five.

I remember being a father...once!
And experiencing incredible emotional depth!
When I witnessed my son die...
Oh yes!

I remember doing marriage twice.
And knowing what I can and can not do,
After giving it a try.
I've replaced those *I Do's* with *Don'ts*.
Keeping any lieing to myself at a minimum.

And as I approach the age of sixty five,
Only God knows how blessed I feel.
With a gratefulness to be alive.
Although I am told I don't look a day over sixty.
And on my good days...
Fifty nine and a half with a smiling done I can pass.

And...
Each day when I make it my business to pray,
I know there could not have been any other way...
I could say I have survived.

Since God and I only know how it has been,
To experience such a hell spiced ride...
With the opening of my eyes,
Even wider.