One Direction (Poetry)

There was time life often drifted sideways
it took a sudden turn off the main track
the odd diversion — something lured or beckoned
and there was no real hurry to get back.

These days I tend to keep to well-marked highways
and travel straight along each given road
I can’t afford the luxury of long-cuts
time presses me — a heavy nagging load.

The years have got me going one direction
my route is mapped, each junction underlined.
I’m travelling towards some destination
unknown — a town it’s better not to find.

Too stubborn, though, to go the way I’m pointed
Fate’s compass needle’s stuck and will not shift
but down a twisting lane the sunlight sparkles ...
I wander off and feel my spirit lift.