MATURITY
| I am deep in contemplation And I find it very strange How this thing we call maturity evokes such startling change We pretend that we've grown wiser But if the truth is told When we boast of our maturity It just means we're growing old The throbbing sound of music That stirred rhythm in my feet Now shatters all my senses I like my music soft and sweet The rich foods that I cherished No longer taste so nice And I find that when I eat them My stomach pays the price Age does have disadvantages But the alternative I know Because when I cease my ageing I'll be planted down below So ageing doesn't bother me Life has so much to give I'll accept each day with gratitude For as long as I may live And many of life's pleasures That I once thought rather small With maturity I've realised They please me most of all I am wandering through the city I've been here just two weeks And my heart is sadly yearning For the comfort that it seeks Business trips to crowded cities Is a task that I detest The spacious, scented bushland Is the haven I love best It's just another sign of ageing That cities make me blue They don't thrill me with excitement The way they used to do The sounds of fast lane living Thrilled my heart in younger years It now has lost its magic It just irritates my ears Crowded city trains and busses Can produce such violent scenes You get stomped and squashed and battered With people packed in like sardines I stay right away from bustling crowds When rain clouds fill the sky A tip from one umbrella Damn near sailed off with my eye And if there's no 'Pedestrian Crossing' In the busy parts of town You have to be a top class sprinter Or the 'hoons' will run you down In my youthful years this challenge Was a thrill that I'd adore I could dodge those charging motorists Like a Spanish matador But maturity has taught me I no longer need this thrill Perhaps I'm not as agile And I'll end up as 'road kill' And those over rated beaches Where the bathing beauties dwell The sand's too hot, the beach is packed And the Sand Flies bite like hell Of course, the city hasn't changed at all It's the same exciting place But maturity has taught me That I need a slower pace I no longer seek the disco's Where my young blood used to rage I find the calmness of the country More suiting to my age Shuffling feet on city pavements Is a sound that my heart dreads I yearn again for bushland And the path that nature treads And when I catch a glimpse of green I am tempted as I pass To ignore the sign that warns me PLEASE STAY OFF THE GRASS Some would find my lifestyle boring bringing horror to their eyes Time spent with my dog and family Has always been my greatest prize Maturity has taught me To obey my heart's request To savour all the pleasures That my heart and soul love best I miss the peaceful scenes of wildlife Drinking from a cooling stream Where the dancing rays of sunshine Adorn each ripple with a gleam To meander through the forest Beneath its towering canopy Where the song of birds in chorus Seem to echo from each tree And when evening shadows deepen And the sun is out of sight I watch the creatures of the day Give way to creatures of the night And in these precious moments I love to take in nature's sights With the moon and stars to guide me And not fluorescent lights I love springtime in the mountains When the stars are all aglow And the moon reveals the beauty Of the melting winter snow And paddling down the river Is a thing I love to do To view the river's beauty From my trusty old canoe Maturity is a state of mind It's so hard to define It can start when you're just forty Or with some, at ninety nine It's just another stage of 'living' And you don't have to be real smart To know that life will still be wonderful While you stay young at heart Maturity brings enlightenment That's one thing that I've found You get to know yourself more clearly And keep both feet on the ground I can't stand pretentious people Or the prattle their talk brings I would prefer my old dog's company To the company of kings And while I walk the city's pavement With every step I tread I reflect on my maturity As these thoughts swirl through my head And again my thoughts remind me That whether young or old Each day that we spend 'living' Is a treasure of pure gold I wont waste one precious moment On things that might have been My life has had its sadness But my pastures have stayed green Though at times we hit a 'dry' spot I've found without a doubt In time there comes a cooling rain To wash away the drought Maturity holds pleasures That the young will someday know For time can not be halted The years of youth too quickly go And though many think the loss of youth Is such a fearful cost Except the bird of youth is moulting So little has been lost If we forget about our ageing And live each day to its extreme We will enjoy so many pleasures And live a life that's still supreme K.D. Abbott © 2009 |
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