Privilege

Reflecting on a life gone by

Remembering when you were young,

No thoughs of what might be in store

Just living today and wanting more,

Life - an adventure just begun.

Teenage years they came and went,

Rebelled against authority.

Took some drugs and grew our hair.

Revolution, we thought, was in the air

We'll change the world - well, didn't we?

No, and it was short lived.

We suffered fron naivety.

Cut our hair, found a spouse,

Got a mortgage, bought a house,

Accepted responsibility

So the middle years passed by.

Bills to pay, there was no rest.

Parenthood, an untried role

Good times, bad times, took its toll,

Then the children flee the nest.

Retirement and a handshake given,

Wish your colleagues goodbye.

Realise your mortality.

This is the reality,

Where has it gone? You wonder why.

Now sit down and reflect.

Can't complain, own your home,

Never called to war to fight,

A warm bed waiting every night.

Life's been good, you cannot moan.

Now anchored in your safe harbour,

You've lived a life of plenty.

Sometimes lost and sometimes won,

That hard work is now all done.

Old age, a privilege, denied to many.