Today my first born turns 18 and I share an old poem of simple advice written some time ago.

What I would share

You cannot always be generous,
sometimes there are things that you are not ready to share,
things you must for a time hold on to.
There are times when you feel the insecurity of scarcity
and cannot believe in abundance.
You cannot always be generous,
but please,
don’t be mean.

You cannot always be genuine,
sometimes you do not know yourself, your mind,
you fear the light is too bright for your true colors,
the cards too clearly staked against you.
Your courage lets you down,
you cannot always be genuine,
but please,
don’t be false.

You cannot always be kind,
sometimes you feel repelled, repulsed,
sometimes you have to turn away, turn your back and walk.
Sometimes your soul is small and scared,
you haven’t any strength to spare.
You cannot always be kind,
but please,
don’t be cruel.

Dhaka 2013