“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
Laozi
Our journey has finally begun 
there have been
fits, starts, delays
in getting here; now
finally underway, I am ill at ease
The irony, not lost on me
An inveterate wanderer, –
‘Mr. Spontaneity’ to friends, family
I do not like not having an even
rudimentary itinerary
I find myself in the driver’s seat,
riding unwilling shotgun
Where this road takes us, unclear.
I know where we are going –
in abstract theory
our route is well-traveled,
mapped out and useless
“This way” our only directional cue
Traveling companions
our conversations more and
more disjointed, repetitive
yet replete with always new insights
wisdom, perspective shared,
dispersed like random gumballs
I wanted the yellow, got the red
still a gumball.
something innocuous to chew on
People sometimes remember
in order to forget;
not by choice, yours a different tack
forgetting to not remember
remembering the obscurity of what was
oblivious at time to what is
except when you aren’t.
Your navigational skills
no longer reliable
I steer conversation to a time of
your place and choosing
where with alarming alacrity
you can recall, recite
the mundane and profound
as I work to remember
to try and not forget, while keeping
my eyes on the road ahead,
utilizing little more than stray
magazine articles and brochures,
well-meaning advice,and gut instinct
all the while striving to keep us moving
forward, using the rear-view mirror
– Mark L. Lucker
© 2017
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
Ponderable polemics, poetic 