TO ALWAYS STAY AWAKE

(a grandpa having fun with words and life)

At 75, I want to be awake

to what life really is, to quietly bake

in the oven of love, to put the brake

on rushing and dashing, and to love the tasty cake

that life prepares each day. The fake

attractions of fame and wealth are like a lake

that’s gone completely dry, enough to make me quake

at my former ignorance and grab a rake

and smooth out my life for the sake

of replanting it with peace and wisdom, to shake

up everything at 75, to be a snake

and shed my old life each day and take
a trip to a mountaintop each day and stay wide awake.

* * * * *

We did a brief but good ride today, out to Wolfneck and around to Old Mystic and then down River Road for a few miles, and then home.  The scenery, as always, was serene and special, just some simple farms and streams and woods and homes, helping an old couple feel fortunate as they rode along.