I fully intend to video a recital of this and post it but it will have to wait until I can eliminate the background noise I'm presently contending with.
Knowing What Matters
By D.M. McGowan
© 2018
He rode an old
McClellan that had seen better days
But he sat up
there like a king who controlled all he surveyed
His mount a
buckskin mare as pretty as you’ve seen
With legs meant
for working and eyes bright and clean
Behind him trailed
a mule, a fine example of the breed
A pack piled high
with goods but no halter or a lead
I asked him where
he’s headed and where he might have been
The reason for his
travel and what he might have seen
“I’ve seen the
greatest country that God ever made
Sometimes mountain
vistas, sometimes a grassy plain.
I’ve seen family
members who make me feel ashamed
And many fellow
workers who lie their way to fame
I’ve seen herds of
caribou clicking cross the plain
Massive Mountain
Grizzlies, great horses wild and tame.
I’ve seen massive
progress ended by greedy fools
Or by those who
need control and impose silly rules
And others
stopping growth by thinking with their heart
When simple logic
tells ‘em the horse is behind the cart.
We all get our little
chance but others need a turn
The younger need
some room to grow to build to learn
When I’ve done my
time, my life here is thru
I don’t want my
final vision to be only gloom and fools.
I’ll be free of
all that as will the mule and mare
We’ve trod the
greatest land, together scenery shared
It all makes my
former life shallow and pale
And now where I
travel nothing is ever stale
I’ve had my days
of wealth measured in dollars and cents
With days, weeks
and years surrounded by wall and fence
But now I have much
more, a far greater treasure
Surrounded by
natures wonders, beauty that can’t be measured
Any measure of
success may not be right for all
The test that has some
rise up will make others fall
I hope the path I
travel and the message that I preach
Will be heard and
understood by people that I meet
No one has the
right to say that my view is wrong
Nor do I have the
right to condemn another’s song
But enjoy the journey
and help your fellow man
Have a laugh and
learn, and make a proper stand
For something you
believe, give it a proper fight
And if you should
lose and you know you might
Within your heart
you’ll know you did your very best
And did what you
thought right when put to the test.
