N-A-T-U-R-E, Pacemakers OR Up for a Challenge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Now, most if not all of us know only too well how great a challenge the ups and downs of life can be,  especially now as the COVID-19 coronavirus may have passed its peak but persists in affecting daily lives around the world., not least those who have lost loved ones to it.

Nature, not unlike human nature is likely to draw us  into various relationship triangles here at various stages in our lives, not infrequently running circles around us and leaving us uncertain as to which way to turn next;  we can but do our best to shape up on our own account, and may the best man, woman, girl or boy win. As for what we mean by 'best' or 'win'... well, how subjective is that? It depends on your point of view, I guess, and a poem can only ever hope to touch upon skeleton templates. 

My English teacher, 'Jock' Rankin - more years ago that I care to remember - once described the relationship between the reader and any piece of writing as putting flesh on the bones; not an uncommon analogy, but one that went over the head of a slow-learner 12 year-old as I was then. In time, though, I came to see how appropriate it is given that no piece of writing strikes any two readers in quite the same way, thereby taking on a life of its own for the reader/s and in the abstract; the latter, in the course of any subsequent discussion, being left to us to make of what we will. A good teacher will suggest interpretations without imposing any; we may well instinctively opt (at the time) for what we discern as the teacher's preferred point of view, but the best teachers provide food for thought that can last a lifetime. Needless to say, Jock was one of the best. 

In many ways, my secondary schooling was all but irrelevant to my educational needs in the sense that its curriculum embraced more technical and science subjects than I have ever had a talent for. Even so, I learned more from its teachers than anything on the curriculum, and for that I will always be grateful.

'The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.' 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Image taken from the Internet)

N-A-T-U-R-E, PACEMAKERS or UP FOR A CHALLENGE

Dawn,

demanding we play our part,

do our best

to rise above the worst

society can throw

at us, contrive (or negotiate)

a winning streak

least likely to drag us back

to Square One

Noon,

challenging us to do (far) better

than our peers

if only to earn promotion

of the sort likely

to bring in enough to pay off

the credit cards,

stop the bailiffs returning us

to Square One

Sunset,

too soon for congratulations

on playing our part,

keeping society off our backs

(for now, at least)

long enough (we live in hope)

to take a step back,

get the measure of ourselves

in Square One

Night,

running a gamut of high hopes,

broken promises,

missed opportunities, pipped

to the post every time

by Fate’s favoured, among whom

we are as...chaff

in an ill wind blowing us back

to Square One?

Sunlight,

waking up to chinks in shutters

greeting us

with wicked winks and cheers

from town and field,

applauding our taking off (again)

on wings of a skylark,
setting as tough a pace as any
for being alive

  

Copyright R. N. Taber 2017