Years

a little boy struggles to breathe minutes after he is born
for now his life is measured in seconds not years
it will be a miracle if he is around to see his first birthday
everyone is worried except the little boy
who takes one labored breath after another
until the seconds become minutes and the minutes
become hours which are followed by days and then years

as he grows he learns to laugh and love
how to lose and live and to love all over again
and he learns the importance of moments not minutes
and how to count his successes and failures
in terms of people and not pennies and good deeds not dollars
and from that small beginning when he struggled to survive
he learned a lifetime and a minute can both last forever