LUCK IS NOT CHANCE
---Emily Dickinson
Luck is not chance --
It's Toil --
Fortune's expensive smile
Is earned --
The Father of the Mine
Is that old-fashioned Coin
We spurned --
When I was a teenager, I recall complaining to my father about how "lucky" some classmate was over some piece of good fortune that seemed to come his way. My father instructed me that "you make your own luck." It took me many years to understand exactly what he meant by that pearl of wisdom.
I often wish that God hadn't seen fit to call my father home so early. When I feel that way, I appreciate intellectually and even logically that God operates on a level far beyond the powers of mortal comprehension. I also appreciate the foundation of my belief that though now I look through a glass darkly, some day I will see face-to-face. Nevertheless, I'm still fallen enough and selfish enough to yearn for the opportunity to tell him that he was right, and that, as one man speaking to another man, I get it. More than that, I long to tell him that I love him for teaching me.
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
Trumpeter Chris Botti, guitarist Dominic Miller, and vocalists Sting and Josh Groban perform Miller's composition, "Shape of My Heart." Keith Lockhart conducts the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Long time lurker, first time commenter. Please post more. Please.
Posted by: Sarah | July 05, 2009 at 10:45 PM
I can't seem to respond to comments promptly, much less post frequently, but thanks for the compliment.
Posted by: Kevin Funnell | July 10, 2009 at 11:07 PM