We are not flowers
wilted and faded
We are not engines
our internal parts worn and ground smooth
We are not ships
run aground, stuck in the mire
We are not river beds
stagnant and evaporating
We are proud strands of energy
bound together by our humanity
beacons of wisdom
sharpened by experience
We may be lined and weathered
but we have persevered
like the mountains, surviving
the ravages that only time can administer
So give us our due
acknowledge our victories
forgive us our sins
For one day you, too, will be mountains
upon which future generations
will scale to new heights
