Second Time Around Poem by Paul Reed

You, of course, knew all along
That my timid sayings were just a blind,
My protestations an empty song
Hiding the strength of my mind;

Renewed life bloods intertwining
What had been lost made rife,
A sort of hidden silver lining
Stitched in the frock coat of life;

But this time around worn with experience
Bound with a ravelled thread,
Learned from the hard school of expedience
Like Lazarus risen from the dead;

My humble duty, myself to oust
Where the plough had solemnly grooved,
To fight back again, to rally, to roust
To restore what had been removed;

This filling of the vacuum
This silence turned to sound,
This rushing of the log flume
The second time around.