I am not a bit impressed with what you do for work;
Don't care about your income or your benefits or perks.
I'll never like you better for the car you choose to drive,
indeed, I might hold it against you if you flaunt that fancy ride.
The clothes you wear, your zipcode, or your general net worth
have zero import on what you've achieved while here alive on earth.
Do you stop and smell the roses, do you listen to the wind?
Do you keep up with the Joneses or explore the world you're in?
With compassion can you walk a mile in someone else's shoes?
Will you take the road less travelled, will you live the life you choose?
Everyone needs wherewithal to make their daily bread;
The fruits of all your labor are the means to keep you fed.
Just don't neglect those priceless hours after your work is done,
do your living with your working 'cause tomorrow may not come.
The lives you touch, the love you share, the stories that unfold
will be worth more than any riches as you look back when you're old.
One day you will wake to find your hair has turned to gray,
although you feel like the same person, by your body you're betrayed.
All your youth and all your passion far behind you in the past,
and you will linger on your memories, as long as memory lasts.
Do you stop and smell the roses, do you listen to the wind?
Do you keep up with the Joneses or explore the world you're in?
With compassion can you walk a mile in someone else's shoes?
Will you take the road less travelled, will you live the life you choose?
Have you followed any passions, have you been lost in a book?
Have you found a skill to master, can you build, or sew, or cook?
Have you picked up information, have you learned from your mistakes?
It's will and discipline not talent that can make a person great.
Are you good to pets and children, can you be both strong and kind?
Are you capable of wonder, can you keep an open mind?
When you're faced with indecision will you choose what you most fear?
Only through facing your own weakness can you broaden your frontiers.
Do you stop and smell the roses, do you listen to the wind?
Do you keep up with the Joneses or explore the world you're in?
With compassion can you walk a mile in someone else's shoes?
Will you take the road less travelled, will you live the life you choose?
credits
from Irreveries,
released September 5, 2023
Kester Hollrock on fiddle!
Dick Fitts on Bass!
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