Take My Time

If only I had taken the time

to listen to the advice you gave me,

but I was always too busy

working on ways to break free.

I wasn’t going to make

the same mistakes you made

for I was my own man and wasn’t

going to spend my life in your shade.

No one could tell me

to take my time,

that life wasn’t as straightforward

as a child’s nursery rhyme.

There were obstacles ahead

I still had to face

and I wasn’t the only one

partaking in this race.

You tried to get me

to lower my expectations,

which I saw as an attack

on my aspirations.

Now I am older I can see

you were right all along,

You were just trying

to stop me from going wrong.

There is a sadness inside

I only discovered when you were gone,

that life is not a sprint

but a marathon.