The World

The world goes on
and people get up
day after day
and go to work, go to the market
the doctor, the dentist,
to get their oil changed
and hair cut
and meet old friends for lunch

They stop at red lights
turn on their lights in rainy weather
wave at their neighbors
and stop for yellow school buses

they go to church on Sundays
and choir practice on Wednesday nights
Bible study once a week
say grace before meals
say  the rosary if they are Catholic
believe in God and his son, Jesus Christ
Amen

The world goes on
the war continues
and yet we will vote again, soon
and try to make sense of the world
as we pay our taxes
take out home equity loans
and build a compost bin in the back yard
doing our part to help the environment

The world goes on
as our children grow up
and we grow old
our grandchildren learn to walk,
start kindergarten and lose their baby teeth
and start to ask grown-up questions

Who is God?
Why did Grandpa die?
Where is heaven?
We read stories about the three little pigs
and Cinderella, but they are smarter than we are
and the questions get harder.

And suddenly, one day,
we cannot hide the gray hair
nor put off that knee replacement
and we wonder where did the years go
where are all the people?
What happened to them?
The faces in our scrapbooks and photo albums
in college yearbooks
and class pictures
from decades ago?
The world goes on