Passengers

Passengers

With sat navs set to anxious
'midst journeys, best laid, planned
Rubberneck past things that count,
with mice and men we stand

Mice who carry onward,
wishing they had changed
Their route to fit distractions
… detours rearranged

Men who had a route mapped,
yet recognised the hitch
The problems driving solo,
with the options that were pitched

Talked broadly round the corners
Screamed narrow through the straights
Veering from angles,
… missing turnings late

Not knowing where the path leads,
or even if it's yours
Some wrong turns, they are others'
… despite how right they draw

Yet sketchy as they may be,
detours have their place
Winding, binding up in plans
… itineraries, they race

With schemes so stacked, and rotas slammed,
and schedules delayed
Bound and gagged, in traffic... jammed,
with indecisions played

Circling round, roundabouts,
stuck on errant loops
Wondering our whereabouts,
whilst stranded in our stoops

Some journeys, they derail fast,
that's just the way it runs
Some routes work better on your own.
… with passengers?... more fun?

Spent, broken down, or running wild,
hitching for a ride
The journey is a short one,
don't leave them on the side

Cause when you're feeling tired, drawn
it helps to share the drive
Some people move us forward
… they help us to arrive

Lest you leave them standing... lost,
abandoned by the road
Someone could help them at your cost,
caught low in highway codes

Hung up on the where's and why's,
ignoring when's and who's
No guarantees they'll still be there,
when finally you choose

Running with the fuel low,
just vapour in the tank
Drove empty 'neath a street lamp's glow
with gauges tired, blank

With excess baggage in the boot,
our gears shifted proud
We all are free to map our routes
Down roads that we're allowed

So take the turnings that you want,
at least you'll know you tried
Be a man, and not a mouse
… you only get one ride