Fortunate Ones
You will inherit large sums of money
(But someone dear to you will have to die first).
You will travel far and see the wide world
(And load yourself with debt; these things aren’t free).
You can relax now. You’ve been through the worst
(But it consumed your youth, and now you’re old).
You will enjoy many warm times with friends
(But they will sneak your booze and filch your smokes).
Your fortune is in some other cookie
(Hard to argue the message that one sends).
You are very important to your folks
(They will never let your life be easy).
A fortune is only worth what it covers
(Believe what you like, discard the others).
Originally in The New York Sun
– Ernest Hilbert
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