FICTIONEERING

        Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Patrick Jane—

        These are some stories that extend our lives,

        Lifting our consciousness to a new plane

        That only fiction’s magic power contrives.

        If not by cinema or stage, then books

        Provide the means we need to see beyond

        Our ordinary lives, giving us looks

        At worlds contrived by art’s entrancing wand.

        Yet still one needs a story of one’s own,

        A life conceived with its own plot and themes,

        More palpable than fiction’s twilight zone

        And well designed to realize one’s dreams.

             Though fiction can inspire, it can’t replace

             A life that’s lived with fortitude and grace.

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