I've wanted many things with age—

Another year, another page

Of empty aspirations falls from view

But as I list them here below

By reading them, you'll come to know

Their tired warnings tell you nothing new

I wanted stronger family ties

Without the secrets or the lies

I wanted for us all to stay together

I wanted to preserve my youth

To seek myself, to find the truth

I wanted all that's good to last forever

I wanted to be self-aware

To be accepted, treated fair

Above it all, I wanted to be right

I sought to make my words precise

To be correct instead of nice

But wisdom is a ruthless form of might

I wanted righteousness to follow

To see unpleasant wretches wallow

I wanted all the stupid fucks to pay

Instead, I judged too harshly and

Alone, I've come to understand

My bitterness pushed everyone away

I wanted much, but little gained

Regrets are all that have remained;

Regrets, and hard-earned cautionary tales

Remember this, my one request

Its truth alone will serve you best:

Without humility, you're doomed to fail

There’s secret fire in you

And every living soul

The flames touch every sinew

But burn to keep you whole

You’ll see it in the darkness

You’ll find it in despair

When melancholy harkens

You’ll feel the ember-flare

When friends grow into strangers

And famly bonds disperse

When life’s uncaring dangers

Oppress you with their worst

When misery’s pale winter

Prevails with bitter frost

When hope no longer glimmers

Its vibrant mantle lost

There’s secret fire in you

Embedded in your soul

It wants to glow within you

And burn to keep you whole