October 06-A, 2022

What keeps us going
is the courage to take another step,
the resolve to see it through,
the curiosity to find out where
the path will take us
if walked with heart
and devotion to the task
of doing what needs to be done
because it needs to be done,
anyway, nevertheless, even so.

That is the spirit 
that got us out of the caves
into the high rises
and walking on the moon.

Maybe feeding the hungry 
will be next,
and educating the poorest among us,
and cleaning up the environment,
and, you know, like that.

None of which will happen
if we quit now.

That's what keeps us going.

We owe it to ourselves
and to those who come after us
to leave this place better
than it was when we found it.

Call it our covenant with life,
and live like we mean it--
with liberty and justice,
truth and equality,
for all.

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