Look down at the pocket watch

Time slips past.

From boy to man,

Much too fast.

With swash buckling books,

You dreamt once

Of distant islands

Filled with mountains,

Pineapples

Palm Trees

And a volcano or two

From the swing set

And a cup full

Of apple juice.

Now you sit at a table,

With only coffee in hand.

A laptop drones on,

Without even a dog in the yard.

No adventure did you ever meet.

Where are the animals

You planned to keep?

The platypus?

The Phoenix?

Not even the caterpillar

That you used to keep.

Instead, you sit,

And wait for a drink

At the bar where Moe’s name

Lights up the street.

A year will go by,

With nothing more to show

Than a “quaint” cabin

On the vineyard

Just because your wife wanted to go.

She’ll cook you “exotic” foods

Like Kumquats

And grapefruit.

But always say,

“We’re on a diet,

So don’t think about that carrot cake.”

You could be racing up

A roaring river

In the middle beautiful India.

Maybe battling a maelstrom

In your pirate ship.

No,

Instead you live happily

With your little wife,

With your little house.

The clock ticks on,

Ticks on,

Without adventure.