Eternal Journey

I am not my job

Or the income it creates

Just Life in Motion

I am more than mom

And family meals I make

More a source of love

More than a father

Who protects his progeny

Through all, I am here

Clearly life is milled

With its ups and downs

Its ebbs and flows

Excitements and debilitating woes

Over time reflection is key

As we see…

Zero to Nineteen

I adapted to cultural family norms

With chameleon-like resilience

Mostly void of personal decision

Where others set the tone

I existed mainly as unseen

Twenty to Thirty

Now I’m old enough to have a voice

Make some noise and self-express,

I entered the Rat Race

Advocated for social change

And like my peers, married, had children

And racked up debt in a hurry

Thirty to Forty

Realization – I’d been hoodwinked

The corporate ladder was a ticket to hell

I was degreed but financially illiterate

Trying to save my way to wealth

A single parent dabbling in entrepreneurship

Mostly living paycheck to paycheck

But still young enough to live energetically

Forty to Fifty

Life’s not all I expected it to be

My reality is a bit off from fulfilling

Getting back on track is illusive

But, stuck in the blah of normalcy

Is not the role I auditioned for

Enjoyment is the tune I’d prefer to score

I can write a new story

In the light of a new reality

Fifty to Sixty

Three self-defined decades have passed

Like the last call for alcohol

It’s now or never for change of choices

Deteriorate or Re-Originate

From Mind, Body, Soul to

Income and lifestyle

I opted to Create Something New

From forgotten passions

I blossomed past fears to where nothing could stop me

Sixty to Seventy

More than Half-way in –

From those who had stagnated I’d hear –

Where did the Time go

Is my retirement savings enough

Will inflation screw me, or

Social Security let me down

But from those who dared to dream

And act, Assets are abundant

The future is bright

with Peace of Mind a certainty

Seventy Plus

Some way, somehow

Through all the years, still here

A testament to human resilience

Through tough times and those thrived

No, not all a bed of roses

I’ve loved and let go

I’ve cried, and longed for

But laughed a whole hell of a lot

And amassed more wealth than ever imagined

I’ve lived past many mistakes

Forgave and been forgiven errors without much fuss

Clearly life is milled

With its ups and downs

Its ebbs and flows

Excitements and woes

With Time I have Grown in Gratitude

To Understand

Energy is Constant

Death is an Illusion

Life is a brief Reflection

In the Cosmic Mirror of Eternity

So, Regardless of the Decade

Or the Challenges that rear their head

The Best Solution for a Life Well-Lived

Is to Enjoy the Journey

Before, During and After the Party

__________

A Poem by Fabraye FM