Destiny Poem by Jim Yerman

We are fortunate to live in a land where we are born and grow up free
Free to select what path our life will take and choose each possibility.

Yet I often wonder how much freedom we possess, not over-dramatize,
Or if our lives are a bit more predetermined than we first realize.

For instance there are two important facts on which no one can deny
We don’t choose when we come into this world and we don’t choose when we die.

We didn’t choose our fathers or decide upon our mothers.
And we certainly didn’t select our sisters or our brothers.

We didn’t determine the color of our skin, or how tall we will one day be
Why we didn’t choose how we look at all, that’s family history.

Although some of our tastes evolve as into adulthood we all bloom
Aren’t most of our likes and dislikes established while still guests in our mother’s womb?

If I hadn’t been born with Mom and Dad’s genes would my baldness be this extreme
I may have even liked olives or beer or, God forbid, hated Neapolitan ice cream.

Is my love of chocolate and all kinds of treats a choice I made willingly
Or is it part of my genetic make-up...part of my sweet destiny?

(By the way if many of our propensities come straight from our creation
Doesn’t it make sense we also don’t get to choose our sexual orientation?)

If my parent’s hadn’t moved to Twinsburg would my life have paid the same dividends?
Would I have had the same education, same experiences, made the same friends?

It seems to me that all our choices, everything we have amassed
Is influenced or driven by the voices of our past.

And though many things about us are determined from above
We do choose the people who inspire us...the people whom we love.

True the voices of the past will always be there but with inspiration as our guide
Our destiny can be altered, our future modified.

As I watch the world go by I find that inspiration in my friends and family
I’m happy with the choices I’ve made and content with my destiny.

And I look eagerly onward to whatever die destiny will cast
As I blend my inspirations with the voices of my past.