As manhood approaches and childhood left
\nThere’s baggage to shed, old ways made bereft;
\nEager to fly as all teenagers are
\nThis pedestrian World seems too slow for your star –
\nWhere you now are is only one phase
\nOthers will follow – tradition to craze;
\nFeeling time pass, with you as the centre,
\nLeaving one doorway, another to enter –
\nSome acts will bring pride, while others bring shame,
\nThe process is part of the human game –
\nLearn from the second and build on the first
\nAnd see that no failure quenches the thirst
\nFor striving to reach an horizon far
\nThat recedes as you go, true to your star.
\nThose human flaws that are prone to expand
\nWere it not for that hidden, helping hand
\nThat’s there ever waiting for each one of us
\nTo lift us out of and up from the dust.
\nThe World is before you – the capital stored
\nFrom past generations should not be ignored,
\nBut wisely used, changing old to the new,
\nA fit gift for those who come after you.
\nLife is a link on a chain, like a path
\nLeading from entry to an exit at last
\nWhere unrevealed Worlds are yet to be found
\nThe simplest of which is for us too profound.
\nWe are one and alone within our role
\nAnd yet nothing unless, part of a whole –
\nIt’s enigmatic and paradoxical
\nTo discover new things but never know all,
\nFor we finite creatures but vaguely see
\nThe idea beyond; infinity.
\nJudge things on their merits and not on trends
\nSeek value not quantity choosing your friends.
\nAssess all you do so acts integrate
\nInto the path of life that’s your fate;
\nThe one given you from which you can’t hide
\nThough how you act only you can decide.
\nTrust not those who raise humans higher than all
\nBut trust less those who would make us too small.
\nA supreme being can sometimes seem odd
\nBut be not ashamed to pay homage to God –
\nSomething above us to garner us in
\nWhen we fail to see that losers can win –
\nReceiving rewards from those scattered seeds,
\nThe seeds of good thoughts, good words and good deeds –
\nMatching with others, the loved and unloved
\nThe greatest of gifts, to love and be loved.
\nWhen one has nothing, then ‘something’ is prized
\nFor those who have all, then ‘nothing’s’ despised.
\nAs you encounter the great and the least
\nTake note that enough is as good as a feast.
\nLife is for living, there’s nought to deplore
\nA whole understanding’s there to explore.
\nGood luck on your journey, you’re well prepared
\nAnd from all misgivings may you be spared.<\/p>\n
The above musings from\u00a0 your fond grandpere
\nAre more than a T-shirt’s worth to wear,
\nSo we’ll hope like him you’ll travel fair
\nTo the land of seen it, done it and been there.<\/p>\n
GRUMPS TO ANDREW – 10-12-2000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As manhood approaches and childhood left There’s baggage to shed, old ways made bereft; Eager to fly as all teenagers are This pedestrian World seems too slow for your star – Where you now are is only one phase Others … Continue reading