Time for a Change

When I started out, this was going to be a serious poem examining the need for spiritual refreshment. I'm not sure what went wrong . . .

I've been letting things slide, she said,

drifting into the spiritual red,

I've been spending so much that I never put back,

I've been letting things slide, she said.

So it’s time for a change, she said,

time to sort out the stuff in my head,

time to shake myself up, get my life back on track,

yes it’s time for a change, she said.

There’s so much I've been told, she said,

that’s confirmed in the books that I've read:

how the spirit grows sinful and sullen and slack,

that’s the truth I've been told, she said.

I shall make a retreat, she said,

find a place where my soul can be fed,

in the stillness and peace find the purpose I lack;

Yes, I’ll need a retreat, she said.

But I think, on my own, she said,

you can sort out your own life instead,

and if you could be gone by the time I get back,

I’ll be best on my own, she said.

So I thought about all she said,

and considered the options ahead;

She's gone off to the nuns, I've been given the sack -

and that's just about all she said.