Virtues

It's waiting that's hard; I want it now, but
some things take time; hand to the plow.
Plant the seed and watch it grow.
Like it or not, life is so.
No matter how hard I wish or pray,
I just have to wait for another day.
Patience develops when I'm able to say:
perhaps tomorrow, but not today.

The home of Kindness is a caring heart,
where this fine virtue gets its start.
In time kindness moves to a smiling face,
and then to hands of mercy and grace.
Before you know it, kindness controls
the daily encounters of body and soul.
In these days of pain and sorrow,
kindness will create a better tomorrow.

My mom once said: "Take the Honest way
in all you do, whether work or play."
She was right, of course, and I know it now
but then, it seemed, no matter how
I lived my life, how I chose to be,
it all came down to what suited me.
Bend the rules? What's the bottom line?
No matter the cost, not yours but mine.

Finally Love, where all virtues combine,
self-giving love that is inclined
to take the risk, to pay the price,
beyond the platitudes of being nice.
Love is patient and love is kind,
give it away and you will find
that love returns to the place of its start,
the living flesh of a Christ-like heart.