What Ingredient Determines a Lifetime?

My curiosity led to trouble

Experimenting as a kid…

Educated with disappointments,

I found joy in what I did. 

Frogs and pebbles in my pocket,

Stray friends and dogs brought home…

I was nourished by my rescues.

This loner never felt alone.

Now entering my final years,

Memories don’t fall short…

Every rescued carp and worm,

Shared a space in my safe port.

My neighbors are frustrated;

I am surrounded by “too much stuff”.

Nothing I own is garbage,

Who determines I’ve loved enough?

Freeways, Highways, Roadways, Pathways and Anyways

I’ve explored so many roadways,

Leading from points A to B and C…

To schools, jobs and home again,

The tar and asphalt set me free.

My hometown built a freeway,

Destinations welcomed us much faster.

We never saw downtown again,

Or a dairy farm or pasture.

Sometimes the freeway connections,

Were linked by old highways…

They led us through towns forgotten,

Now decaying since glory days.

The best rewards of travel,

I have found on remote paths…

Ocean views and mountain air,

Are the memories that last.

Along the routes I've traveled,

Towards old age from my youth…

Every intersection I've encountered,

Provided undiscovered truths.  

F the World

The middle class was strangled,

By politicians, each a liar…

The cops now are the killers,

Our school children dodge gunfire.

Endangered animal species,

Are sold to those who pay…

The oceans swamp the cities,

Yet there’s less water every day.

The internet’s an open forum

Displaying no respect for facts…

Videos by self-promoting fools

Assault with dumb or dangerous acts.

I’m starting to wear the definition,

Like a stylish weatherproof coat…

The fashion statement labels me

A heartbroken misanthrope.