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When a fetus or baby, I then could have been: Born to mother who died, or with father unknown Into poverty born in a nation not free With impairments or problems I've never outgrown Or by parents aborted if she, not a he. I was lucky When a child and teenager, I could have been: A delinquent or orphan or war refugee Or abandoned or crippled, for child labor used Without friends, joy, or future or dead from OD Or unschooled or deprived or unloved or abused. I was lucky When full-grown in my prime, I could also have been: An inebriate, parasite, vagrant, or jailed Or been killed in a war or had not met my wife Unemployed or an entrepreneur who had failed Or severely depressed or had taken my life. I was lucky And I could in the decades that followed have been: Unexpectedly fired, into bankruptcy forced By an accident maimed, watching children go bad Or a victim of crime or been sued or divorced Or betrayed by a friend, or gone stark, raving mad. I was lucky With retirement approaching, I then could have been: From my children estranged, mourning death of my wife Or investing unwisely or homeless or broke Having manic disorders or bored with my life Or in hospital bed with a cancer or stroke. I was lucky Over eighty, like many my age I could be: With no pension or savings or family left Or dependent on charity, begging, or theft In a nursing home languishing, sad and confined All alone and an invalid, witless, or blind. I am lucky (or blessed)
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