Pause For Poetry:
Michael Hawkes /84

En Route To Limerick

A poem by Michael Hawkes

The road I’ve always followed follows me,
Even going round the bend it’s there to see.
Being double yellow-lined
It has been a proper bind
I couldn’t turn from where or what I used to be.

I tried losing it by going very fast,
Not knowing if my driving skills would last,
I had big scares and thrills
On the steepest of the hills…
But there’s no future found in fleeing from the past.

Now, in the rearview mirror I see me
And behind the haggard face a history;
I also see I can’t outrun
All the wicked deeds I’ve done,
But there’s redemption at the toll booth, luckily.

Yes, I’ll pay and get a token at the booth,
On the motorway is where I’ll find the truth,
That hasty overtaking
Is a risky undertaking
And the crosses in the ditches are the proof.

So, keeping to the right I dawdle on
Not knowing what I’ve done that was so wrong;
Hell yes! I’ve paid a price
For every little vice
And the penance, like this journey, has been long.

26/09/23 – Hawkes

Feature image: Pixabay

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