when other
people set the pace
you have
a greater chance to lose
you’ll
never win a single race
while
wearing someone else’s shoes
it’s
always up to you to choose
just how
to start, how to begin
so, pay
attention, read the cues
and heaven knows you just might win
as
babies
mobiles
hung
over our
cribs
because
motion is essential
it keeps
the mind busy
and
gives us something to focus on
to
remind us we are not alone
as
children
we sat
on the stoop
watching
cars go by
because
motion is essential
and not
every kid
lives on
a river
or has
access to the ocean
as
teenagers
we rode
up and down the streets
going
nowhere
because
motion is essential
and it’s
hard for emotions
or
problems
to catch
up to a moving target
as
adults
we are
constantly moving
proceeding
with caution, running errands
jumping
to conclusions
because
motion is essential
it keeps
us on our toes
distracting
us long enough
so we
don’t notice we are getting old
as
elderly
it’s
harder to move
with
aching bones, lost muscle tone
because
motion is essential
we hang
up bird feeders
and move
vicariously
via our
colorful, feathered friends
to
remind us we are not alone
there is
a wooden swing
hanging
from the apple tree
like an
old cliché
like a
feeble imitation of a Norman Rockwell painting
as if it
was hung there as a prop
by a savvy
realtor trying to sell the property
with the
apples beginning to ripen
she
happily swings
sometimes
for hours
she is
only five
and she
doesn’t know what a cliché is
she has
never heard of Norman Rockwell
and is
not looking to buy real estate
I walk
the summer path alone
my
grandfather has long since passed
while
everything around has grown
with all
those things that he had shown
creating
memories that last
I walk
the summer path alone
he
taught me how to skip a stone
upon a
pond as smooth as glass
while
everything around has grown
I miss
that time, it was our own
he
answered questions that I’d ask
I walk
the summer path alone
an empty
nest, the birds have flown
into a
world that is so vast
while
everything around has grown
he
talked of people he had known
and how
the years go by so fast
I walk
the summer path alone
while
everything around has grown
violent entry,
uninvited
moving
in the same direction
angry
people now excited
infiltrate
another section
trying
to cause an insurrection
while battle
lines are being drawn
pick a
side, make a selection
still
mindlessly they carry on
with
their leader’s lies recited
in their
minds like an infection
radical
groups become united
to
change results of an election
no time
to think, no self-reflection
don’t
use their brain, just use their brawn
carelessly
without objection
still
mindlessly they carry on
hoping that
they don’t get cited
trying
to avoid detection
trying
not to get indicted
straight
ahead without deflection
on a
course with no correction
while
all the options now are gone
they
expose their imperfections
still
mindlessly they carry on
angry
crowd of one complexion
policemen
with their weapons drawn
while
people try to find protection
still
mindlessly they carry on
Sometimes
I leave blank pages in my journal
only
because I had nothing to say that day
I don’t
share these pages with anyone
how
could I?... they are blank
and I
don’t need to be reminded of my failures
I don’t
go back and fill them in later
because
that would be a lie
I just
leave them empty
as a
memorial
to the
time that I have wasted
on this journey
a
darkened room, he sat alone
with memories
he can’t ignore
with
thoughts that only he had known
with
photos that he’d never shown
well hid
away inside a drawer
a
darkened room, he sat alone
one time
he tried to make atone
in words
he’d never spoke before
with
thoughts that only he had known
the
things he did he can’t condone
another
casualty of war
a
darkened room, he sat alone
he tried
to end it on his own
a failed
attempt and nothing more
with
thoughts that only he had known
his
final years were spent at home
inside
four walls, behind a door
a
darkened room, he sat alone
with thoughts that only he had known
