Must we quantify success?

Fine.

I get it.

We’re a society in love with numbers.

I don’t hate math.

But if we must keep some sort of count,

To wrap our human minds around value,

Let us not do it in hours of work,

Dollars in the bank,

The weight of jewelry that exists only to say,

“Look, I’ve done the things,

To buy the things, so I can be the things”

Success?

If we so need tangibles

Physical, quantifiable evidence

Of a life lived well,

Let us keep count in eye crinkles.

Yes, eye crinkles. 

Lets measure the depth and length,

Of those smile lines that have become fixed

In the corner of our eyes.

Lets count the number of moments

We’ve worn joy on our faces.