Damaged Goods

The people that I love
     are not winners or losers
          by any definition
               of that word.


I love them
     because they have a unique gift.
They have a dream
     because they are dreamers.
And it is not their ability to achieve their dreams
      which define them.
It is not their work ethic
     their unrelenting pursuit
          their clarity of vision
               their perseverance in the face of adversity.
The dream is not a job that is performed,
     or a mountain that is climbed.


It is the shape of which
     that defines our souls.


The people I have cared for are damaged
     but they know love.
They live with diminished expectations
     but they demand your respect.
They forgive
     as easily as they forget.


And they hold on to their dreams
     and occasionally dust them off.
And with a polish that belies their age
     and a sheen as bright as the sun
They create something new
     that fades in the mid day sun
          and changes forever
               how you look upon this world.


You see the gate open
     you see the horizon just beyond
You make love with wild abandon
     The kinetic motion becomes a song
And nothing we achieve
     can ever be defined
Our souls are just relieved
     by the inexplicably sublime.