“This year she has changed greatly”— meaning you –
My sanguine friends agree,
And hope thereby to reassure me.
No, child, you never change; neither do I.
Indeed all our lives long
We are still fated to do wrong,
Too fast caught by care of humankind,
Easily vexed and grieved,
Foolishly flattered and deceived;
And yet each knows that the changeless other
Must love and pardon still,
Be the new error what it will:
Assured by that same glint of deathlessness
Which neither can surprise
In any other pair of eyes.
The author wishes to express his devotion to Deborah Drooz and James Truman, for their courage, their loyalty, their unflagging great care. I give you my heart.