A Once Upon a Time Dream
A long long time ago (even not so long ago it sometimes seems),
I used to have what I perceived to be nice, practical dreams.
Not many of my biggest dreams ever did come true,
but there was one I felt so very sure that I would do.
I dreamed that a great milestone I’d one day fulfill.
I never thought to reach it would require too much skill.
I dreamed a centenarian one day that I could be.
At the time I wished for this, I was rather foolhardy.
I still was in my 20’s, so fit and energetic.
I did not know my dad’s side nor their awful stuff genetic.
Each mile since age 30 brought me strange new kinds of trials.
I know by now that I don’t care to make 100 miles!
Big Pharma too destroyed my dream of living many years.
The side effects of one bad drug has brought me pain and tears.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my life, and maybe I’ll live long.
My mother and her kin sure don’t have many things gone wrong.
But knowing what I know today of suffering and of
the many problems I have seen in people that I love . . .
I have no more the great dream to become a centenarian.
Seeing how the world is now, I’m ok with leaving here as an octogenarian.
June 1, 2023 For the Dreaming Poetry Contest of Regina McIntosh
Copyright © Andrea Dietrich | Year Posted 2023
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