Lucky For Some

How lucky I am!
There are no mortars aimed at my house;
no shells explode in my garden.
I do not have to dodge the snipers' bullets
each time I do my shopping.
There are no mines
for my children to step on
unawares.

There is no famine here;
I have food in abundance
~the choicest delicacies~
and fresh, clear water.
I do not think, with every mouthful,
of the parasites that may cripple, kill,
or make me blind, nor think that every meal
may be my last...

Fears of sickness and disease
are little more than a background hum;
childhood ailments, save coughs and colds,
banished to memory by sugar cubes and needles.
Nothing is certain in life
save death, but the loss of my children
is not in the forefront of my mind
every day, thank God.

My life is not perfect, no.
How bored I would be if it were!
But its horrors, by and large, pass me by,
and I have far more than my fair share
of its blessings.
Happiness is not unalloyed
but, like most of the "civilized" world, maybe
I take it too much for granted?