Clocks

You know your clock is ticking!
What, my clock..i don’t even own a watch!?
Oh my life is not fitting into your well laid plan…
where I fit my life into money attached to your clocks hands!
Just because our great city all live beneath a clock, which dictates their daily scene,
I’m 400 miles north of there and have my own routine.
So w hat’s ticking for us this year the kids not had, the mid-life crisis or the menopause still missing?
Which clock do I turn to, and who sets the rules and pace,
Because my life feels good and balanced right now, I’ve got some good headspace.
But this pressure, that society and you is inaccurately predicting,
Is driven by a machine that is profit fuelled infliction.
The clock is set against benchmarks and specific profiles designed by ‘top’ marketeers,
To squeeze out every drop of cash based on, the age, race, persuasion and gender, it’s been happening for years,
So I know how it works you see, marketing gurus and your expert orientation.
Once product is set you then target me based on my various segmentations.
You think that guys like me as we age, will move quietly into the night
But we are an army where the move from light to dark causes us a fright,
A scare so real but so many of us you will see are fighting it
Which is why you see us middle aged dudes in skinny’s that can barely fit
As the reality of where we’re heading is too fast approaching
So it’s the realm of the twenty somethings that we’re keen on encroaching.
Because you know all of the fun and games is wasted on those under 30,
But these you young angels are yet to get their wings, their faces are still dirty.
It is us in the 40’s that need to have the time off and gap years,
As we’re the ones who are financially sound with more choices than vices, whose brains have moved up 2 feet to somewhere between our ears.
You see you’re never too old to re-invent yourself, take that new direction,
I won’t be profiled or caged or compartmentalised, I make my own selection.
But I see you still lurking there in the corner of my eye, notepad in hand,
As you analyse the figures of the demographic based on where I stand.
And hit me with ‘the chances are 1 in 2 of your age will get cancer so that could be you!’
But is there a slight possibility that this is one of those maths classes that eluded you?
You don’t my routine, my diet, my location, my physical and mental health,
You’re at it again with the want to sell me drugs, vitamins, health insurance to protect these I will leave behind…you know all of the things attached to the increase in your wealth.
Ok, I will indulge you, as I’ve lived through someone close to me getting cancer,
And at every stage there was a poor man’s Hawkins near us with stats like 10%, now 30%, down to 5%…have you any idea of the fear!
But who worked on her mental health which could stop the ticking, so to enhance her well-being?
Now you are right to a point as you are looking after my welfare and future…
And If I had followed the lead of societies norms, If only I’d endured,
The safe job, massive pension, nice car no doubt, mortgage paid off…for sure.
I haven’t done this because I’m not convinced still 47,
That I’m not long for the scrap yard soon and then where….hell or maybe heaven?
But the maths is simple when I choose the options ahead, if I just count back and see,
That there’s 29 years behind me and 20 more in front to lead.
But here’s the crazy notion, that I’ve lived by, in the protection of my fiefdom,
Is the music that I live life by, is the beat of MY own drum.
Not to see how high I jump, to give you a better view,
And not by the ticking of a lifestyle clock, which is only set by you.
So a shout out to the young team from us 40’s pluses with passion in our blood,
We’ve spent longer than you’ve been on this planet honing our skills for the greater good,
And of the 20 something years on earth, our first 15 are a wash-out,
As we’ve gone from mastering the toilet to learning when not to scream and shout.
My advice for you, for what it’s worth as you embark on life with full vigour,
Is fear nothing, try everything when you want, it will make your brain and heart much bigger.
Embrace integrity and empathy, compassion and mostly love,
Don’t be pigeon holed by some suit, who’s placed himself above
To squeeze every penny out of you…just smile and banish hatred
So live, laugh and get out there and be awesome and creative
©PEDRO-BATPOET 2018