Success

I can not say that in this life
   I've conquered every hill;
Nor can I think of any time
   When life has sent no ill.

I can not say that all I've done
   Has gone the way I've planned;
Nor can I give a single proof
   Of Utopias I have planned.

I can not tell of many riches,
   My fortune does include;
Nor can I name a lover,
   Who with my charms I've wooed.

I can not sail an ocean,
   Defying every storm;
Nor can I fly like birds,
   Whose wings are never worn.

But I can tie a knot,
   And make it stay in place;
And I can make for Halloween,
   A mighty horrid face.

Oh, I can throw a stone in air,
   And make it land on target;
And I can bargain with the best
   In the village market.

Oh, I can find the fishing holes,
   Where the big ones are;
And I can carve a wooden knife
   With little flaw or mar.

Oh, I can do a hundred things,
   That no one else can do;
And I can teach those things to others,
   So they can do them too.

                     - G. Mark Trimble