HELD UP

Held up against Leonardo Da Vinci and Margaret Knight
Held up against Sheryl Sandburg and Steve Jobs
Held up against Georgia O’Keeffe and Pablo Picasso
Held up against Louis Pasteur and Jane Goodall
Held up against Martin Luther King Jr’s and Mother Teresa
Held up against LeBron James and Maria Sharapovas
Held up against J. S. Bach and Amatus Sami-Karim
Held up against Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet
Held up against Albert Einstein and Annie Easley
Held up against Hildegard von Bingen and Pope Francis?
Well, I leave a lot to be desired.

But!

Held up against their desire to make a difference
Held up against their creativity in the face of challenge
Held up against their personal ambiguities and ego-centricities
Held up against their failures as well as their successes
Held up against their concern-fueled compassionate action
Held up against their willingness to do whatever it takes
Held up against their gritty vim and grainy vigor
Held up against their intelligence paired with instincts
Held up against their vitality and exuberance
Held up against their resolute and industrious spirits
I’m about as persnickety, perfective and promising
as they have been.