Lucky You
/Your life can be splendid
Your health is its bedrock
Many potential threats
lurk around the corner
ready to attack your well-being
At birth without choice
a set of genes assigned to you
some encode potential ailments
many dictate your behaviors
leading to diseases
In half-million-mile
of your blood vessels
any spot has the risk of being clogged
Of the trillions of cells you own
each one might go wrong
and mutate into cancer
Many viruses and bacteria can invade you
Mosquitoes and all kinds of other culprits
may bite you and spread their diseases
You never know how much
contaminated food, water
and polluted air you have consumed
that has induced silent damage
waiting to wreak havoc
Sometimes you do harm to your body
by depriving yourself of sleep
engaging in reckless activities
overeating, overdrinking
overworking
Your unavoidable stress or anger
induces excessive release of adrenaline
raises your blood pressure
puts stress on your heart
and leaves scars
Hot sun scorches the skin
floods drown people
lightning strikes
accidents, violences and wars
cause many disabilities and deaths
You are fortunate
if you have not been affected
Into later years
if you are not defeated by aging
still enjoy life
your health has passed
its share of challenges
Lucky you
By Shih-Fang Wang
From: United States