Hot Rod Poetry

[23crate]

sigh, ive sat here musing the last few days
of youthful appearance no more grays
so it could be said im feeling a bit old
probably more surprised id say - be bold
that nearly 60 years gone down the track
some of you i know, that was a time back
as they you all know time speeds with age
reckon weve all heard that Grandmas sage.
a thing i could add to slow the time down
heard from them or read from wise ones downtown
try new things all the time, bucket list stuff
make sure you do get through that fluff
because when your small years are long,
because everything is a new untried song
we age and stuff becomes the norm
nothing bothers us like that old thunder storm ..
i have to say once i was told it was real
is " youre only old as the person you feel
missus crate is 4 years younger hooray
so its 56 now i must say id like that to stay.
but surprised i am at quick its arrived
things to do that ive never tried ...
so id better get a wriggle on or maybe a stagger
before i look like Richards or Jagger

 

[smallfoot]

Very good crate1

 

[bob w]

So glad you are writing. Good message in your new one.

 

[gene49]

I remember a time, not long ago really
Just out of high school, I was something to see.
Strong, lean, and tough, was the description of me.
I had visions and understanding on how life should be
Willing to work and fight to make it all be
Nothing on earth was going to detour me
I had things to do, places to be
I had my priorities, it was all about me
Found a cute little gal that wanted to follow me
With her by my side the me became we
The two together were still on target to be we.
With kids and cars and houses we
still followed my vision of what life should be.

Then one day, the entire story just changed!
That morning came and I couldn't move.
Hospitals, Doctors, and tests became the work of the day.
Lost my job and my career, everything I knew how to do
was something I could no longer do,
with a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage, what will I do?
Starting over at 34 was not in my original plan.
A few long years of discovery is what we went through.
My condition could be treated with medication
but how much and how often was the question,
and then how much physical work could I do?
Some days were bad, some days were good
we finally found a combination that worked

By then I knew how much physical work I could do
past experience applied, my own welding shop was what it would take.
At 38 I saw myself at 18 and thought real hard at the changes I needed to make.
One big thing was the family I'd ignored, I wouldn't be making that same mistake.
How I treated others was another change I had to make.
My view of life in general needed a whole remake.

I get the rare chance to look back again,
I turned 68 a few months ago.
I'm retired now, that welding shop thing worked out OK.
I heard an old song by Bob Seeker "Like a Rock"
That song could have been written for my first 20 years.
In the song are the words "20 years, man I don't know, 20 years, man where'd they go?"
For my, it was the last 30 years, and then the 20 before that.
50 years, man, where have they gone?
I can't answer where they went, but I can look back and see how I have done.
The first 16 of the first 20 were hard driven with little concern about anything but myself and my goals.
The last 4 years of that first 20 was a recalculation and a reset, beyond my control.
The last 30 was when I was working on those resets.
I don't believe I'm where I'm suppose to be yet, but I'm a whole lot closer then I was.

The 1st 1/2 may be considered a poem, the last 1/2 is my life.