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Robert Lindner
Joan tells me I wrote a poem for her once upon a time, so here is another one.
TRANSITIONS - A Tale Of Fifty Years (Since 1964)
Once upon a time, fifty years ago,
Though not the beginning of time for me,
Just a point in my life, when I would know
A change would come, I dreamt, and hoped I’d be
A great success, whatever that may mean,
But here I am, and fifty years have passed,
They were mostly good years, the ones I’ve seen
Since, but not the first time, and not the last
Of time passing, making my life a tale
I can tell, as the sixties passed, then in
The seventies and then eighties set sail
For nineties, a century would begin,
Then ten years more into this history,
And here we are, changed by the vagaries
Of time, you into you, me into me,
And some have passed into the distant seas,
So fifty years have passed, and now it seems
I am constantly wondering what I’ll do,
With a new transition now, since my dreams
Are old and mostly fulfilled, and my new
Ones seem mainly questions of avoidance
And approach, with plans for getting around
The many obstacles of life that chance
Will put in front of you, some are profound,
But change, that necessary condition
Of existence is out of our control,
And when change comes, there’s a transition
To plan for, so we won’t fall through a hole
Or trip over a bump, since holes and bumps
Always seem to be there, when changes come,
And a plan’s needed so that no one jumps
In holes or trips on bumps, does something dumb,
Then there’s reflex reaction to the change,
And you can be sure that if nothing’s planned,
Someone will react and do something strange,
And if they do they’re sure to fall and land
On their rear ends or their faces or worse,
Not land, but fall into a hole, a crack,
Which can be deep, and then there’ll be a curse
That’s shouted, until the bottom comes, then whack
Another sound, and then the shouting stops,
Therefore to prevent this undesired sound,
A plan is made to be sure no one drops
A square peg into any hole that’s round,
But I never was one who liked to plan
Always preferring spontaneity,
Going with the flow, whenever I can
In a search for life’s serendipity
As luck would have it, fifty years passed by
And I’ve found my way through each transition
Though changes should be planned for, I know I
Will count on fool’s luck and intuition,
It’s worked so far, at least it has for me.
So that’s my tale of fifty years, since we
Became the class of 64, fifty
Years ago, it seems an eternity,
But it’s just fifty years of transitions,
Of changes, some I’d rather not mention.
Still, there are changes and traditions,
And hell’s road is paved with good intention.
Heaven’s path is clear, but neither is near,
So far as my story goes, I am here,
After transitions of a long career,
To wish you all a happy fiftieth year.
Robert Lindner, September 2014
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