All my colors, my every word
All compliments I’ve ever heard,
All my time and all my sleeping
All my money, none I’m keeping.
My dinner, my treats, and my food
My right to stay in a foul mood,
My social circle, all my friends
Days that fade into pleasing ends.
Collection of shoes, purses, and shirts
Rehearsing of Life’s silly hurts,
My whole future, all my scheming
Designs I will keep on dreaming.
All these things to have are nice
But their pursuit, what is the price?
Will I exchange my very soul
For things which never make me whole?
What will it cost me if I say,
“Life is richer Jesus’ way”?
You give us good gifts from above.
You are our comfort, truth, and love.
My declaration I will resume,
“Call the creature sent to consume
These trinkets of gold, mirth, and cloth!
I leave my treasure to the moth!”
~ Stephanie Rogers, poet and painter
~ Janet Mueller, photographer
September 2025
