I’m not sure but I think there was a time

from November, 2013  (I was 68)

I’m not sure but I think there was a time

I should have downshifted and turned a corner

or maybe sped up in high to get somewhere fast

I could have sought advice or read some directions

I’m not even sure I didn’t do those things

There was a time the totality of life seemed easy

and only the insignificant particulars were difficult

The totality was in the hands and minds of others

adults who understood the situation I only perceived

a perception self-centered and foolish I knew

There was a time I could not give what I did not have

It was never correct to do that but it was a tradition

to tell the young to take care of the penny

and the dollars would take care of themselves

So now there’s a tarnished cent among the dirty dollars

I’ve never been anything if not presumptuous

thinking sooner or later to be of some worth

therefore worthy of tolerance until then

Now that I’ve not altered gear nor direction

everyday is too familiar to be somewhere else