Learning To Love Yourself
Out in the green Derbyshire hills
a ginger man
sees in another year.
Just like me, he has seen many,
and, like me again,
too few have been happy.
He has a fine family, and fine love
from his wife,
from his children,
from their children,
from other people,
even from me.
Even so,
even after all that love,
he has not had enough,
we have not had enough,
happiness.
Perhaps this is the truth:
the years we are here
are what we make of them,
and what we make of them
could be made better
with the one thing
he and I could never
give to each other,
the greatest gift of all:
learning to love
yourself.