Getting From Here To There: Two Poems
This old car
has seen better days.
One thing after another
has gone wrong with it.
The paint is chipped.
There’s a dent or three.
God alone knows
how long the engine will run.
My vintage vehicle
has taken me many places—
Probably why I cling to it
resisting a trade-in.
Ignoring eccentricities.
Just hoping it will last
a wee bit longer
before the final recall
when all journeys end
(or begin...)
...and I unfold my wings
and take up flying.
Each day I see passing ships
their decks filled with passengers
waving for me to join them.
Tempted, I stop and ask myself,
are they going where I want to go?
Is this ship shipshape?
Is it seaworthy?
I see friends on these vessels.
How exciting to join them.
But is their journey my journey?
Or must I let them go—
wish them “bon voyage...”
send them on with love.
My ship may not even be a ship
but a humbler craft
a raft or a rowboat...
If it’s mine—no matter how modest—
it’s the only one I should board.
The seas can be mild
but also rough and hungry...
Either way
I must find my own way;
never mind what others say
even less what they may do.
I must trust my heart,
follow my instincts,
push off from the dock
and let the wind take me
wherever it will...
Wherever I’m meant to go.
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