Events occur. To laugh or cry?
The powers are beyond my reach.
Might I learn from what they teach?
This event, too, will pass me by.
I’m old. The hurt: the passing of youth,
Gone the glimmerings of a plan,
Some fates nothing can withstand.
A quite presence is the truth.
Gone are Tom, Dick, and Harry,
A drive too fast and crazy,
As if there’s no time to tarry.
Rather, take a steady pace.
Few will view this as lazy,
Some life evens are divine grace.
Francis Conlon is a retired and recovering teacher. For the past 20 years, he has worked as a seasonal river ranger and boat inspector at Yampa River State Park in northwest Colorado. He has published in the local Valley Voice and in Westward Quarterly. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.