the road ahead
is traveled differently
with shorter stride
lessened pace
there is no shame
being a traveler slowed
wisdom grows
to match the nicks
of years and miles
the virtue of sacrifice
begets the courage
to best the journey
that remains
rob kistner © 2019
3 IGWRT words: shame, virtue, sacrifice
Only the slow traveler will notice how life has been passing.
So so true Björn, and only they will notice the wonderful details.
A veritable walk of wisdom and age. Love it!
Thank you very much Vivian, I appreciate your kind words! 🙂
Walking slowly, one sees more of the world around you.
Yes Toni, and so be enriched!
I love the fact that time and age has forced me to slow down. I am so fully present in each day now. Well done Rob!
It’s one of those wonderful blessings you don’t know understanding Linda, until it happens! 🙂
Wonderful advice, Rob.
Thank you Lisa! 🙂
Ah yes, what in youth we take for granted, in age we have time to savor. You’ve said much in your 44 words, Rob.
DI am pleased this resonated for you Bev… 🙂
What a lovely tribute to the beauty of growing older. I love these lines, especially:
“there is no shame
being a traveler slowed
wisdom grows
to match the nicks
of years and miles”
Thank you De, I am pleased this spoke to you… 🙂
Slow walking is bad for the Congress, but excellent for poets.
You make me miss my cane; haven’t used it in over a year. For the decade I did use it, I kept my camera with me to record the treasures found.
I am blessed to still be able to manage short walks. Sorry that’s been lost to you brother.
I don’t recall granting you permission post my photo & tell my tale (even though you have done so so very well!)
Retro-permission is hereby granted.
Thank you Ron! We are living on the same page my friend… 🙂
love the idea of a “traveler slowed”
It is a blessing one does not realize, unril it is bestowed Candy…
Well written. I especially liked the 3rd stanza describing wisdom growing with nicks from life.
Thank you Arcadia. Wisdom is the patina of age…
there is no shame
being a traveler slowed
All of our nicks match the slowness of our steps.
Love it!
Thank you Deight…! 🙂
Hi Rob! You brought it all home in the last stanza …. thanks so much for playing.
You are most welcome Helen. This was enjoyable.
there is no shame
being a traveler slowed
Reading this was a true delight. It warmed my soul and lifted my spirits. Thank you for the wise and wonderful message, Rob! It really hit home.
Thank you MW, I am pleased this resonated for you!
This is beautiful. I’ve walked with people who move fast and notice nothing. To walk slow and appreciate…that is the thing.
Thank you Sascha! There is much to behold if we slow down, lift our heads, and look around.
Your quadrille resonates with me, Rob. I’m not keen on travelling these days – and I’m off to my daughter’s again this Thursday to look after Lucas while they decorate their new house and get it ready to move into. I’ll be taking it steadily, if not slowly, and I’m letting the train take the strain!
Life has a way of eventually getting us to slow down and notice we are alive. Be safe on your visit to your daughters Kim… 🙂
Well I am walking slower and I talk to far more people than I ever did before so perhaps I can agree with that theory. Hadn’t thought of it as wisdom but more about aches and pains, but whatever you say I’ll agree with you.
I think we learn, or should learn from our misfortunes and mistakes. If for no other reason than for our own sake, so we don’t repeat them. That is a trove of wisdom there, though it is not always well received — so we need to be clever in how we offer it.
Life slows us down so we can appreciate the journey. Love this poem. It makes me think of my father. I have the wooden cane he used on his final journeys.
Treasure it Susie. My 6-year-old grandson told his mother that he wants PaPa’s cane when I no longer use it. Pretty touching.
As we age we know there is not much time left so we tend to treasure all the little things. We slow down because we don’t have a choice. 🙂
That’s the gift Rall. When we are young and full of sap, we are not prone to take it slower, missing much as a result.
I like this, especially “there is no shame
being a traveler slowed.”
Thank you RW, glad you enjoyed this.
The wisdom garnered with time is to be realised and enjoyed not to be had at fleeting glances. Then life had been caused to be justified. Much wisdom in your write Rob!
Hank
I am pleased it resonated for you Hank!
The old traveler is all the richer saving the best for last and enjoying every minute of it. There is much wisdom in your write, Rob!
Hank
Again, thank you Hank.
Apologies for the double-take Rob. Thought the first one did not register.
Hank
No problem Hank. Just thought you were emphasizing your initial comment.
In my seventh decade, I am LOVING this quadrille, Rob! The photo….the title….everything about it! I identify with it!
May I share something with you here? I’ve been reading A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore….one of the books listed in a Washington Post article about 100 books one should read during a lifetime…and then there is one listed for every year…as in age 1 I think was Pat the Bunny, age 11 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Can’t recall the year Gate at the Stairs is for…but here is the quotation that I copied from it:
“I believed aging would never come to me. Death would come to me – I knew this . . . But the drying, hunching, blanching, hobbling, fading, thinking, slowing? I just would not let that happen to me.” Made me smile….I used to think that way…the invincibility of those earlier years when you just jumped into each day blithely. And here we are….thankful for every day….a few nicks here and there….and the grace to keep moving through the journey, though there’s undeniably fewer miles left to travel now.
A wonderful quadrille!
Thank you for your kind words Lillian. I certainly relate to that quote you shared. Aging has been slowing my body, and I stubbornly do the best I can to keep the thing moving, getting repairs made as necessary. However, I’m doing all I can to refuse it my mind, my creativity. In some ways, my empathy has increased, and I am pleased with that change. I think that falls under the wisdom umbrella, as does being able to understand others better — or at least I feel I do. I am finding growth in my gratitude. My patience is still marginal, but I catch myself more quickly. I find this all interesting because as a younger man, I exhibited strong Type A personality traits, though I was selective with my organizational focus, owing I believe to having lived with aspects of ADD — undiagnosed and misunderstood in the 40’s and 50’s. I was just considered a hyper child, and got “does not concentrate on tasks at hand” check marks on my catholic school report card all the time. But I got good grades because I was able to hyper-focus on the elements required to keep my grades up. I also naturally hyper-focused on things I really liked — so I excelled at many things. Oh well, I ramble Lillian. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
My original comment got lost in the blog netherworld… your poetry certainly reflects how aging impacts the intrepid traveler in me. Last stanza brought it all home. Thanks for joining!
Your first comment cape through yesterday Helen, and I answered it then. My site has been bombarded by tons of “trash spam” in the last month, and my spam guard is now catching everything, so It is now making me approve everything. Frustrating, but it is acting on its own — and I am glad it is. It is even making me approve my replys to comments I am receiving. That is new after 15 years?
Sometimes we do well to take our time on the journey.. not to rush everything.
Easy does it as we age, makes life richer Kerry.