A Sonnet for Alex

Choices

Choices, without them there’s no morality,
No reasoned will by which to live and learn.
Be brave; do not fear your mortality.
Give, yet expect no reward in return.
Whatever may be the consequence,
Whatever the punishment or the prize,
Choose to speak and to act without pretense,
Resist all temptations to compromise.
Whatever your longing or your desire,
Whatever your hope, your wish, or your dream,
There is nothing you may ever acquire
That is worth losing your own self-esteem.
So, within the many murmuring voices
 Remember to always make good choices.

                                                by Dee Newman