The Way Things Go

We plan our lives perfectly,

Straight to a T,

To make our lives wonderful

And perfect as can be.

Raised by good mothers

And dads who love us.

We just know things are good

And we know that we’re loved.

As children, we dream of becoming adults.

Going off to college or becoming famous.

Everything seems within our grasp

And our memories are still ageless.

We grow up complaining

About tons of little stuff,

Like taking the dog out

Or having to clean up.

We still think we’re invincible,

Jumping off tables and chairs;

Jumping off the high dive

And doing flips in mid-air.

We have so few worries then.

Getting grounded for the week,

Maybe some fights with siblings

Or not wanting to go to sleep.

We don’t realize things change

Once we really grow up.

Things simply look easier,

As if they’re living it up.

Eventually there’s high school

And we do our very best

To make our parents happy

And to pass every test.

We try so hard to fit in,

More and more everyday.

We change things about ourselves

To make us “their” way.

Eventually,

Our priorities change.

Our families fade

And others take place.

Our friends,

Boyfriends and girlfriends are there,

Pushing us, pushing us

To do as they dare.

We change things about us

The entire way along,

Begging them quietly

To let us belong.

We do stupid things,

Like have sex and do drugs,

Crying for something,

A thing called ‘false love’.

Something in the midst

Seems to go wrong.

Something bad happens

We knew would all along.

It doesn’t matter what it is,

Because it’s atrocious either way,

And for one reason or another,

No one wants to stay.

The wonder friends

We thought we’d made,

Their friendships seem weary

As we start to fade.

Our group kicks us out

And we’re not outsiders to them.

So our lives planned to a T

We now know we won’t win.

There’s always some obstacle

Standing firmly in our paths

And somehow, eventually,

We have to backtrack.

We go back to the thing

That started it all.

We go back to the time

When our worries were small.

We see we were never

Most important to us.

We always pleased others

And forgot about love.

So our wonderful planning,

All of it straight to a T,

We realize that long ago

We let it go free.

If only it had happened different,

If it was the one thing we did know…

But we can’t change what’s happened,

So, ah, the way things go…