Chapter 3
The page turns…
A new chapter in this book of life
Something brand new
The end of constant labor
Days free from toil
Except for the voluntary
No manager staring at my back
Waiting for mistakes
Shallow excuses for firing.
I grew up in Chapter 1
Born in the beginning
A jumble of unintelligible words
Until it started to make sense
The transition arrived slowly
While I was innocent
Educated for the next chapter
And a lifetime of work now over
Chapter 2 is closed.
But what is written on upcoming pages?
I cannot look ahead
Only guessing the outcomes
I can only prophesy the future
Every page, a new turn
A twist, uncertainty
Rules this chapter
The page count unknown
But that’s the beauty of freedom
One never knows where it will lead.
So many opportunities ahead
So many risks rewarding
But dark shadows are there
In the corners awaiting
Wolves red-eyed in the wood
Hungry for food
Awaiting their victim
I must be on guard
Prepared for the fight
Holding to hope, realistic.
I want to see more of this world
To know what I’ve missed
In Chapters 1 and 2
To watch those readers
Of earlier chapters
As they rush past my table
Along cobblestone streets
While I have my morning coffee
Under the street-side umbrella
On a clear spring morning.
Every page a story
Every word a chance
At reward, not money
But the greatest of currencies…
Time…precious time.
There are no billionaires in time
All of us are limited
None of us immortal
At least on this earth
But I cannot dwell on this.
I must cherish Chapter 3.
--
There is a Chapter 4.
I don’t know the page
I can’t see its start
But it is inevitable
The end of the book
Maybe not the end,
But all I can hold
In these earthly hands
I cannot understand
As I’ve just started Chapter 3
Chapter 3, the time of life’s freedom.