The Journey

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Driving on the bridge to Older

Rightmost lanes, crawling past

Disabled traffic on the shoulder

Leftmost lanes, moving fast

Folks all driving different speeds

Everyone with different needs

And fears, and maps (or maybe none!)

Some cautious, others having fun

A bridge that has its own rest stops

Construction zones, along the way

Traffic lights, and traffic cops

And stop-and-goes, most every day

Solid lines, and dashed lines

Breakdown lanes, express

Highway tolls and traffic signs

Sometimes a snarled mess

Why such trouble, why such pain

To cross to such an ancient place

As Older? If I go again

I'd much prefer a calmer pace

But everyone will pass this way

A tangled, noisy pulsing throng

One-way traffic, night and day

Every hour, all day long

Quite a London Bridge of shops

Distractions spanning pier to pier

Crossing river, leaps and hops

Not marked by miles, but by year

I drive this road every day

And pause to think, yet even though

I might wish to choose my way

It will never happen so

The center lane is where I drive

River mostly hid from view

I'm happy to feel quite alive

While I imagine water blue

Coursing by, far below

The world of drivers, way up high

Above the ancient river's flow

Happy to let time slip by

We all are on this one-way road

Leaving Younger, far behind

While oceans full of time have flowed

And we all wonder what we'll find

Down the street, when we reach Older,

It's said that There is one more town

The road to There is slightly colder

All the cars, once There, break down

I plan to drive There, round the bend

Off-ramps gone, and exits passed

One small stop sign at the end

My epic drive, complete at last!

Across a rolling hill, spread wide, a quilt of creeping phlox

Patches strewn across the ground in vibrant pinks and whites

Upon which, rows and columns, silent ranks, of chiseled rocks

Surrender to the floral waves atop the grassy heights

Folks who came to pay their visits, many years ago

Searched for loved one's names among the lonely tombstones there

Planted tiny flowers, year by year, and watched them grow

Spreading hazy fragrance in the springtime, churchyard air

When I stand no longer in this world that I've called home

Having passed perhaps, from here, to somewhere far away

I'd like to be remembered with a flower, not a stone

Soft and fragrant color, on a warm and sunny day

Life flows to the sea,

A pleasure you have shared with me

Over the rocks and under the tree

Life flows to the sea

Life dances in the sky

A flock of birds soaring high

Calls "hello," and then "goodbye"

Life dances in the sky

Life abounds, everywhere

Past and present, here and there

Forever more, a kind of prayer

Life abounds, everywhere

Life for me, and life for you

A thought to share, a thing to do

A place to go, a passing through

Life for me, and life for you

And when I reach the sea, someday

I hope that by the brook you'll say

"The stream flows on, and life's ok"

When I reach the sea someday

When I was young I used to like to run straight down the hill

And feel the careless, laughing wind, blowing on my face

A sunny outdoor world, and a child's unfettered thrill

A solo competition with the world, a one-man race

Years went by, and I forgot about the hilly run

With school and work, and now I had a family of my own

A new exciting energy defined my daily fun

On turning to a different race, a mid-life marathon

My kids ran straight down hills, with all the thrill of having flown

Just like a bird, while feeling wind upon their faces, too

Then they grew up and fell in love; had families of their own

Running, chasing, growing, like all children seem to do

I am older now, and I hike with trekking poles

Just as careful coming down as when I'm on the climb

Careful, every step, to feel the land beneath my soles

Even on the level ground, I tend to take my time

A spectrum spans the many years, from childhood to now

Of things that make the heart race, and things that make me smile

These things have changed, as I've grown up, yet, in my mind somehow

I still race down the grassy hill, once in a rare, rare while

People move, and water falls

   Endless mother earth-song calls

With twist and turn, life brings change

   Waters churn, and rearrange

The rocks and trees that frame the scene

   Top to bottom, in between

A home ahead, a home behind

   Life unfolds, a slow unwind

A move, the falls - so much alike

   The waters call "come, take a hike!”

From where we stand, looking back

To days gone by, when we were young

Do we see Christmas, Santa's sack,

Life's first steps; a ladder rung?

Or do we see a long thin track,

A line on which our fate is hung?

We look ahead, to what lies there

Some distant day when we've grown old

A regal ornament to wear

Something precious, spun from gold

Or is it more a dark despair,

A coffin still and cold?

I much prefer a spiral stair

Curves and steps, ascent and rise

To vantage, high up in the air
Ending with a fresh surprise
Turning, climbing, with a dare
To celebrate these well-earned highs!