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A Waste of Time

Sometimes I think my life a waste of time That I have accomplished nothing of note, When I observe those with lives sublime I fear I am stuck in a backwood remote. My mind becomes overwhelmed with fear That I may leave this life without a legacy With all I have accomplished left at a bier, Where some have labeled all mendacity. Yet I know that time for all must expire 'Tis true, that life on this earth is transient, And we must to a greater beyond aspire Then, only then, will I know what it meant. written January 10, 2021

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Caren Krutsinger

Date: 1/13/2022 8:23:00 AM

Never fear Hank, your poems are your legacy! "My mind becomes overwhelmed with fear" Have you checked out www.lulu.com? You can upload your own book on there for free.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/13/2022 8:48:00 AM

I have not, Caren, but I'm going to. Never heard of it before. Do you think I have enough good stuff to make a decent chapbook? I've been thinking about it. The last chapbook I did was fifty years ago! I did include a few poems in my book of short stories, Ashes on the Snow. Yes, I'm going to check it out!

Shirley Hawkins

Date: 1/12/2022 8:22:00 PM

Spot on, Milt As we age, we tend to think more about what we haven't done and can't remember (in my case) what we have.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 9:36:00 PM

Yes, true. Many of my experiences go back fifty and sixty years, and it is sometimes difficult to remember details. I totally get it.

Virginia Gelok

Date: 1/12/2022 5:12:00 PM

I feel so many of us think we have accomplished little in our lives but when we note the ones we've lost too soon, we realized how very much they accomplished. I am sure we don't realize just want we have contributed to life. This poem really made me think! Thankyou

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 5:25:00 PM

Virginia, thanks so much for your response to my poem. I hoped it might be an incentive for readers to think about their legacy.

Terry Flood

Date: 1/12/2022 4:13:00 PM

A young girl gets hit by a bus and all is over. Let’s backtrack… A young girl is about to cross the road, you ask her the time… she stops, tells you the time, bids you good day and a bus whizzes by. She goes on to have three children, one of whom has two children, one of whom finds a cure for all cancers, the other finds the solution to global starvation. And all because you asked a young girl the time. Most of us will never know our overall effect on planet Earth. Maybe for some of us, it is just to wonder what the time is. A wonderful write, Milt. Terry

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 4:56:00 PM

Thanks so much, Terry, for this marvelous response to my poem. If it made no other impression on anyone, it made a wonderful impression on you. Who knows when we may be the one who asks for the time or gives it, for that matter.

Robert Gorelick

Date: 1/12/2022 3:18:00 PM

Love your poem, I believe that the finest legacy one can leave behind is decency; it's extremely underrated....Robert

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 3:23:00 PM

Thanks, Robert. I surely can agree with your thoughts on that!

Kim Rodrigues

Date: 1/12/2022 2:36:00 PM

The older we get the more we contemplate the meaning of our lives.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 3:24:00 PM

I think that is true, as well, Kim.

Sotto Poet

Date: 1/12/2022 11:58:00 AM

Milt, your poem is indeed thought-provoking, and it serves as everlasting mourning for humankind. We've been missing you these last few days, and I hope everything is going well for you. It was a pleasure to read your dark poem, and we are delighted to have you back here.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 3:24:00 PM

Thank you, Lasaad. I responded earlier, but I think PS is having some problems!

Paulette Calasibetta

Date: 1/12/2022 9:30:00 AM

Milton, I think you speak for many. We don't always recognize our worth, especially when we are busy accomplishing the tasks that life spreads before us. Sometimes it takes an objective eye to reveal all the list of accomplishments in ourselves. This poem is so very thought provoking, a timeless lament of humankind. And as an objective party, I would say, from your creative poetic pen, you have nothing to fear! Blessings, Paulette

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 9:44:00 AM

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful comment on my poem, Paulette. I suspect it is true of many who reach the golden years.

Gary Radice

Date: 1/12/2022 9:20:00 AM

No waste of time at all Milt. One read of your bio. and many a read of your poems such as this great quatrain proves that to me. Cheers - Gary

L Milton Hankins
Date: 1/12/2022 9:45:00 AM

Thanks, Gary, for your encouraging words. I think, however, that many of us seniors (golden oldies) have these concerns. I hope I leave something worthwhile behind, and it may just be a truckload of poems! lol. Cheers to you, my friend.