Second Careers
“The day thou gavest, Lord has ended,
The darkness falls at thy behest”,
Those words from childhood now are rendered
As life grinds down – I’ve tried my best.So fast time passes, and then it’s over
We stop, look up, and time is gone.
The children grown, our life is more sober
Each day whirls by to dusk from dawn.Our work-life once stretched out before us forever
Much time for our careers to grow
Then new faces passed us, employment was severed,
Our bums on curbside – well, what do you know!The fear that is in us of being redundant
As our obsolescent skills all wane
Yet learning another skill set – so abundant –
Makes each succeeding year the same.No longer is stretched our work-life before us
With promise we our crafts can hone
Far faster to dump us, regard us as surplus
“New faces have skill-sets, so send others home.Our ways have been changing since home-life of cavemen
Gave way to houses we built in trees
But now these cycles repeating without end
By mid-life has most of us down on our knees.I once had a stop-watch in hundredths of seconds
That spiked up the tension within my heart
I chucked it when reckoned the hour-hand beckoned
Me slow down and savor the tempo of art.Now art is a pastime whose tempo is like mine
Insight and reflection are central to it
Instead of me whirling as outside is swirling
I choose to select art – a much better fit.The day thou gavest, Lord has ended
Once more, just like all the other times
With number of days of our lives now extended
There’s second careers raising options sublime.navigation