and of course . . . i will smile

and of course . . . i will smile

we watch them go by

this occurrence of time

years

like rivers they flow

filled with smiles and tears

the fears we once held

have been dispelled

with the forward march

for they were

but some strange shadow

that somehow

interceded betwixt

me and my light

i reflect on the road

and the passages of rite

and rote

and a side note

we made it through

anyway . . . didn’t we

so here we stand

some looking forward

some behind

some blind-ed

by circumstance

or choice

yet for all

there are the voices

cloistering themselves

taking numbers

and standing in line

for their turn to speak

and plead their cause

for your attention

some offer obeisance

and reverence

and some

are just damned and filled

with arrogance

for me

for you

for anything but self

and how they would have me walk

and while they sit in the Lobby

and the truthful seekers

in the pews

seeking to aright

all the askews

in the me’s

and the you’s

we perhaps may get lucky

and comprehend

it is we who choose

to travel the easy road

or cut one of our own

and deep inside each one of us

i know we have known

that choice

and how we exact

our way of travel

is the voice the universe hears

and responds to

so i will skip

but not to Lou

for i have none

but skip i shall just the same

with a smile upon my countenance

for it is quite simple

voices or silence

this is where i am

and it matters not what i do tomorrow

for that will also appear

show up

and validate it’s self

as i just allow

my nows to be strung together

with no didactic recourse

and of course

i will smile

(c) 29 December 2011 : William S. Peters, Sr.