“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, perspectives – 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
© 2018
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
Ponderable polemics, poetic 