THE JOURNEY OF LIFE
When we are young
The world we see
So large, infinite
In wonderment
On what to be
Joy and pain
And full of questioning
When with this new world
We come, to a reckoning
Everyone works together
Hand in hand
And in our mind
From land to land
A little older
We doth grow
And a little more
We doth know
The world, still
A place of wonder
Into more learning
Do we blunder
We begin to see
That not all around
Is as perfect
And sound
And suffering and pain
Can be found
And yet, we plod around
With awe
Still mostly
Find little to flaw
And yet older again
Ourselves we find
And knowledge increases
In kind
The flaws are many
The world we know
In some respect
Is not as perfect
As we did expect
The pain and inhumanity
Becomes more clear
And those we love
We draw more near
And for the future
We begin to fear
Determined we become
To make a change
And the possible options
Are many in range
It is at this time
And this is strange
That from our loved ones
We grow, somewhat estranged
We will not
The mistakes repeat
Our determination, concrete
Nothing impossible, no feat
And then again
Older we become
Working through life
On our own
And turning our attention
To survival and life
Taking a husband or wife
And starting a family
Slipping to the back
Our desired intention
The mistakes of
Generations before
Are not as much in focus
As they were before
We begin to change
In one aspect
For those before us
A new found respect
We look at our young
And see our past
Hoping for them
There innocence
Will long last
“Oh why can’t we deviate
From the past”
Tis hard to fathom, alas
Make the changes
That will give them hope
But time draws to a close
And our end comes fast
We work hard to pass on
The learning we’ve gained
From tests overcome
Hoping these mistakes
Will not repeat
And in some great feat
The new ones will learn
And a step closer to hope
They will earn
The need to pass it on, doth burn
Then a time comes
When we step back
And watch and hope
As our little ones cope
And see life in a new scope
Reflecting and clinging to
Life’s hope
Connecting one generation
To the other
Mother, father, son and daughter
Then the day comes
When our children
Have little ones
Of their own
And they create
A new definition
Of home
We begin to see time
With new meaning
Truly endless
Or at least seeming
And it won’t be long
Before they only see us
When they are dreaming
As these years, have come and gone
The more together
Do we all belong
There is clearly a future
So bright and new
Though only
Through our minds eye
This world
Can now be viewed
I roll up my sleeves
And do what I can
For now is the time
When I can focus
On the Plan
The joy and wonder
That came
When I was so small
Is no longer so hard
To recall
The magic that surrounds
Knows no bounds
We have but
To open our eyes
And a clear path
We can spy
One hard, to deny
We no longer
For ourselves fear
Nor for those
We draw near
For each and every soul
To us is dear
And oneness
Is blatantly clear
I look forward
To this next stage of life
Of new tests and challenges
I am certain
Many, rife
But such is life
I do not fear the end
I fear to His will
I will not bend
A life of mistakes
To learn from and mend
A message to the future
I wish to send
…..do not forget
And do not regret
We worked hard
Step by step
So as to bring into being
A future that
Has much meaning
Spiritual, no longer demeaning
Of my future
Tis not yet written
But diving into it
With life’s joys, I am smitten
And in reality
I do not care
For my love for all
Is what I am aware
-Shiidon, June 2010
This poem has taken a week to float to the surface. I think of how it was to live in a world of perfection, or seemingly so. Then, while living in Bangladesh, seeing suffering, true and severe suffering for the first time. It opened my eyes to much in the world. Then the changes that come as we get older and the things that take up our time and attention. Finally I write from that place where I find myself now. I know that in the future there will be a new perspective for me to reflect on, but for now this is the reality that I find myself in. I believe that there is much suffering now in the world. I also believe that we are building, generation by generation, a world that will be unlike any of us can imagine. One that has removed the suffering that we impose on each other and ourselves knowingly. The golden age of mankind, if you will. I am certain that it will come to pass, though we have much to learn from before we reach that time.