Journey (Poetry)

Child — for you are still a child to me
despite your twenty years —
your vision of the world is bright —
exotic with horizons to explore —
the lure of foreign places — names that call —
that need to travel strong.

You run along — take off for far-flung cities
in the mist — the ancient crumbling walls
the fierceness of the sun has kissed
for centuries — drink in those sights
enjoy them — let them fill your wild imagination
in the still of tropic nights
before the darkness falls.

The wonders of the world are for the young.
I travelled once
but the glitter of the sea has long-since faded
and the moonlight on the roofs — the spires
and steeples — the market places thronged
with shrill-voiced people — all has dimmed
age has jaded appetite — the sharpness
and the thrill have melted from my mind.

You too will one day find
you struggle to recall and get confused —
as years drift into one another
most mountains look the same — all rivers blend
into a great long stream of memory
that dwindles into distance...

For you the world is fresh —
so find your own frontiers to conquer
I’ll stay here — forgetting what I’ve seen —
time merges soft the colours of experience
into a vague unreality—
a dream of living —
the life I used to own.