I have wandered

I have wandered

Both near and far

Without moving from my chair

Nothing goes unnoticed

From this high balcony

As vantageous as a crows nest

A bald eagle’s eyrie

A cosy fit for sitting

Comfortably positioned

In repose

An observation post

With no obvious reservation

As to the provenance

Of its prime location

Overlooking the daily promenade

Of different shapes and sizes

Healthy individuals

Keeping pace with progress

Or shuffling to an end

An unravelling of mortality

Mottled bodies in receivership

Awaiting reclamation by a trustee

Of our cultural legacy

Humanity is left at the door

Of an all-day breakfast bar

Drive yourself in future

Metal tombs encase the nearly dead

Carrying them to an early grave

Instead of an assisted passage

To a health spa

I too drive a car

How long now before it becomes

An antisocial pastime

A selfish act with no added value

In an age of reparation

What restitution can be made

When there is no atonement

For the fossil fool

Pretty walkers stand inline

To receive a blessing

From the handmaid

In the coffee shop

Replenishing reusable cups

Drinking caffeine-free latte

Whilst idling their time

On a mobile phone

Packed full of rare earth minerals

But irony is dead

As much as paint with added lead

And there was never enough lead

At all in pencils.

As parcels wrapped in brown paper

Are hand-delivered to the door

Some of them are late

Whilst others are unexpected

Surprise gifts from afar

Birthday balloons on the gatepost

Are not so cool once we begin

To fear the passing of the years

A lady walks by in tears

Perhaps she saw me looking

Down my nose,

From up here, it is all too easy

And there is no excuse

For making light of other people’s

Problems

But we all seem so to do

Even as we care to believe

We are fated otherwise

But for good genes

And an advantageous postcode

There indeed go I.