Tested Day And Night For Decades Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

I've heard all kinds of fantasies,
Of how I live my life.
From others who perceive.
What it is they wish to believe.
I am amused by some of the comments.
While others I dislike...
Determined I am to live 'my' life.

But the life I live for the past 65 years,
Has not been lived without pain or strife.
Although I've heard others say to me...
How lucky I am to have had no struggles or fights.
And with straight faces they've had the nerve to say this.

Yet...
Continued to feel blessed to live this gift I've been given,
A life I have learned to appreciate and like...
Is a gratefulness I awaken each day to express,
To the Creator who knows what for me is best.
And...
God only knows what has fed my appetite.
Without malice to seek revenge with a bitterness that spites.
And I've been tested day and night for decades.