Success

What should we look for in a life successfully led?
Those things that mark one man’s life,
a success above another’s.

Is it the size of bank balance,
the large house, expensive car?
The trappings of achievement.

Is it notoriety or fame,
of headlines and awards?
Getting to the top of your game.

Is it doing great and noble things,
a seminal work or art, or finding the cure for the common cold?
That guarantee our place in history.

No. Do not look to these things.
A life successfully led is not marked by them.

It is in the lives of those we leave behind,
who mourn our passing.
The ones who raise a glass,
and drink to our memory.
The ones who miss us,
and remember us fondly.