A Yorkshire Poet Poet Free verse

The Race

The first one seemed so neat and cool and got you on your way.
The second came too soon and still felt like your right of way.
The third revealed a subtle shift in where your priorities lay.
The fourth had lost the party noise and started making you pay.
The fifth saw you turn all the stress upon yourself at the close of day.
The sixth delivered what you’d hoped for, but in a different way.
Then you began to wonder if somehow you’d lost your way.
The younger ones had fresher dreams and passed their time another way.
Now it takes twice the effort just to keep their pace at bay,
And your own mind conspires against you more with every day.
After thirty-five years you look back and see you’re travelling a different way.
All that time pursuing success in your own peculiar way.
So you step aside from the race, knowing that in a few weeks you’ll be forgotten and replaced anyway

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Christopher Delegans June 7, 2026 at 6:55 PM Very relatable and chronicled so well. Enjoyed reading! A Yorkshire Poet June 7, 2026 at 8:14 PM Hi Christopher, Thanks for your comments. Looking back over all that time you ask yourself: ‘was it worth it?’ Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.