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Some luck out in life, find that someone special,

The one who completes ‘em, ticking every box in that list they’re checking,

They say there’s one for everyone, just gotta keep on swimming,

But what of those who go fishing but leave with empty baskets?

Destined to walk alone, on the wrong end of pity and scorn,

While the other side are romanticized as living embodiments of characters seen on movie nights,

But lost under the bright lights are what goes on behind the scenes, the ups and downs that go unseen,

The one you choose is the one with whom you run the gauntlet, prepare to be tested,

Could make or break the union, vows honoured or discarded,

Some don’t go the distance, a TKO remains a possibility,

Once inseparable becoming strangers or even the very worst of enemies,

Go it alone you’ll avoid that experience, dodging heartbreak and loss,

Are they the bitter and the damned? Or fortunate compared to most?

Happy are they that live the dream, scoring goals with their other half in tow,

Maybe some little ones join the show within a stable and happy home,

To grow old becomes a privilege rather than a hindrance, living life, side by side, until the very end of time,

Played the game and came up roses where winning is 50-50, where defeat comes with humiliation aplenty,

But the payoff well worth the risk, doesn’t get better than this,

A loving home and family, a lasting legacy, consider yourself fulfilled, not all are as lucky,

And even if you lose you learn, your choice to climb back on or go it alone, the party’s over but you’re still standing, life goes on,

You can say you tried, lapped up all the pleasures for a while, many would count you fortunate, Sir Alfie is but one of ‘em.

Never know what you’ll find, but the flipside a sad fact of life,

Could take a long time to find ‘em, not unusual to come up empty-handed,

Fate had other plans, maybe, can’t always dictate its direction,

Might not fit in the puzzle, nothing comes easy to outsiders,

Can still live your best life on your lonesome, a nasty thief is comparison,

Options always open, no constraints whatsoever, consider it personal freedom, perhaps your grass is greener,

Swerving the darker players within the game, the liars, manipulators, cheaters and the fake,

So maybe Sir Alfie wasn’t all that right all along, it ain’t a set path for all,

Go your own way, see where it takes you, so long as you regret nothing once the gates appear before you.

Gazing at that vast stretch of green, the park cutting Spence and Kimmy streets,

Overlooked by Adelaide, beside the school fenced by steel gates,

Passing through once more, sun shining this early morning, the memory bank blown open, let’s step back even if just for a moment,

Looking back at what had been, thirty years and counting,

Took it all for granted, grains of sand seemed to pour forever,

First home long gone, an upgrade long overdue, our first lodgings upon migration, now a memory all but forgotten,

Off to the park we go, let that mind wander, it’s still early in the day, maybe for an hour.

Change is a constant, confirmed by these here surroundings, old-style simplicity overcome by what’s deemed aesthetically pleasing at the expense of what at least one holds most preciously,

Little ones here spoiled for choice, what with upgrades on equipment, we made do swinging and sliding when we weren’t wilding out and running,

Setting off for adventures, riding bikes on the weekend, washed away the aftertaste of classes, basking in life’s simple pleasures,

Back to the present, noticed more trees planted, not that it’s a negative, but it does look different,

Old rusted drums straight from the junkyard once held peoples’ garbage, replaced since by steel blocks, weirdly-shaped, now accepting what’s been discarded,

Plenty of space to move around, still, that ain’t ever changing,

Turning towards Adelaide, at what’s behind the gates, Memory Lane stretching, the 90s rising from the ashes.

Donning those old shoes mentally, several sizes smaller now, the uniform ill-fitting, would tear ‘em easily now,

Reading, writing, arithmetic and meal breaks in between, fun with the guys, a few silly fights, our teachers the best of frenemies,

Lives governed by the chiming of the bell, dare to break the rules get ready for hell,

Groaning at the strain of all this homework, back then the extent of all our troubles,

Looking at what’s ahead, the weekend, once there hoping it would never end,

Gaming time in the bank before the cycle repeats over again,

The hell were we thinking? Wanting to grow up fast,

Here we are now, got what we wished for, some days want to take it back, this whole chapter is ass.

Morning walk nearing its conclusion, thinking ‘bout the homies, been thirty years now since shared hijinks and frivolities,

Approaching midlife now, all of us, on our own little journeys,

Marriage, kids and families, careers designed to tie wayward minds to reality,

All moved out the ‘hood, I am still right here,

Everyone goes away but this is home, warts and all, that’s just how it goes,

Would be nice to break bread, reminisce about the days when we were lads,

Not much chance of that, life got us scattered all around the map,

Taking in this scenery, still familiar but so different,

Once my stomping ground but that was long ago, but still a fond reminder, each and every visit.