“Live long and prosper,”
the Vulcan greeting.
“Live and be prosperous:
and farewell good fellow,”
from Romeo and Juliet…
Are they commands,
flourish, achieve success?
Or is there an implied
statement of desire, of hope?
Can we choose to live long,
to prosper? Nobody knows
the number of our days
though we can avoid addictions,
bad choices, reckless daring.
We cannot choose to thwart death,
just not be gracious hosts.
Prosper, though, rests in our purview
not in terms of wealth or fame
though that may come.
When we surrender lives,
do next right things, release
all beyond our control,
we prosper,
whether command or prayer.