L-I-F-E, a Journey-poem OR Food for Thought

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

"Jock" Rankin, an English teacher at my secondary school some sixty years ago, would sometimes read the class a poem and then ask who enjoyed it. He chose his poems well and had a fine reading voice, with just enough traces of a Scottish accent to give it a musical lilt, so most of us would put our hands up. One lad who didn’t was asked why. 
    “Sorry, sir,” he said, “but I just don’t like poetry, it’s boring.”  to which Jock replied, “Fair enough, life is journey-poem of sorts, and too short to waste time being bored. Apologies for boring you.”     “Oh, but you didn’t sir, the lad protested, “To be honest, I just didn’t understand it.”
    “Ah, said the teacher, then think about it. Food for thought is never wasted, whether or not you come up with any answers. Oh, and even if you don't, the chances are, sooner or later, someone else will; whether or not they get it right, of course, is something else altogether... ” 
     At which point the bell rang for home time.

L-I-F-E, A JOURNEY-POEM or FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

Life is a journey-poem,
it begins where rainbows end
and draws to a close
(for better, for worse) in the hearts
of family and friends 

Life is a journey-poem,
each stanza, a chapter in personal
time and space,
part lyrical, part prosaic, for feelings
finding their way 

Life is a journey-poem,
triggering commas and full stops,
any rhyme (or none)
as mind-body-spirit seeks to discover,
a workable rhythm 

Life is a journey-poem
its travellers making sure to keep
a diary of love (and hate)
war and peace, the pride (and shame)
of joie-de-vivre 

Life is a journey-poem
negotiating such twists and turns,
as all global consciousness
endures for whatever mind-body-spirit
it well-deserve 

Come journey’s end,
much said, done, recorded in terms
of the who and the where
if not (quite) all its why’s and the how’s
from start to finish 

The where and when
of our journey's end, no one knows;
we can but nurture a good heart,
give mind-body-spirit a heads-up enough
to enjoy the poem

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

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