The Horizon

I once was but am no longer

A child thin as a rail

Why walk when you can run

Sitting still was just not possible

I once was

A father’s son

Who would have listened better

If he had only known

How brief the visit

I once was

A rebel, long haired, bell bottomed

Dressed for the revolution

Mourning King and Kennedy

Watched as the change we had hoped for

Ended with Weathermen becoming stock brokers

I once was

An ally working in the back offices

Supporting amazing people that

Helped the poor, the ill, the muddled and confused

Then on to clinics that cared for the health of woman, children and families

And even when I left the world of care for people

I got the chance to help those conserving the

resources of our planet

to make the world safe for the beings in our oceans, on land and in the air.

I once was

A young lover and over time

A fair husband

Bound together by kismet, love, loss and luck

Only separated by “until … do us part”

I once was

A father of young boys

Chasing the elder

With the younger on my hip

Theses days they are minding me

Helping me navigate a world

No longer familiar.

I once was all these things

But am no longer

As I look at the future

I am beginning to imagine

What I could become

And although there may not be

A myriad of possibilities

My well worn ideals, practical experience

Passion and compassion and

understanding that all this will pass

Give me all the tools I need to

make the most of what is on the horizon.