Reward For Long Service. Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

Reward for long service
English ode format.

The waterways of England are
Somewhat neglected nowadays
More fun than travelling by car
Is cruising down the waterways.
Although you cannot travel fast.
You can enjoy the scenery
Sheer pleasure from the first to last
Speed merchants though may stand aghast
They much prefer machinery
to relics from the distant past.

The narrow boats which they despise.
Are works of art in their own right.
Some motorists to their surprise
see waterways in new light.
The motorways designed for speed
To tell the truth are not much fun
Although some drivers disagreed
You cannot please everyone
Alternative religion
a modern technocratic creed.

I choose to cruise the waterways.
A slower pace that suits my taste
Than drive on busy motorways
I have no need for making haste
Each to their own I must suppose
You’re free to choose what suits you best.
To travel fast or travel slow
I don’t claim to speak for the rest.
Though I can guess I do not know.

What pressures have been brought to bear
Why some must choose the motorways
To travel fast from here to there.
I’ve opted out of the rat race.
Retirement has set me free
To travel at my chosen pace
No boss to tell me what to do
It is entirely up to me
That’s why I chose the waterways
I took the chance to start anew.

I am aware not everyone
Has the freedom to decide to do
the same as I have done.
Their choices are limited to.
Obeying what employers say.
Resigning from their present post
and try to find a different way.
But most cannot afford the cost.

I know that I am fortunate.
I worked like that for forty years.
Retirement I find is great.
Better than it first appears.
I was quite sure I would be bored.
With nothing to look forward to
But it’s a case of all aboard.
We’re off to see somewhere new.
No need to rush my times my own
How quickly past the years have flown.

Wednesday,23 November 2011
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