This poem written in January 2019, so well before so many started griping about choices during Covid, speaks to my views about the power of choice, and how we each have that power and right – yet in the context of personal growth and maturity, and societal rights, rules and democracy. And of course, there are consequences for every choice.
It’s my choice to go up or down
It’s my choice to smile or frown
It’s my choice to go left or right
It’s my choice to wear dark or light.
Choice is both a privilege and a right
It comes with responsibility and foresight
Choice is a given but also earned
It’s how to choose that is often learned
It’s my choice to run or walk
It’s my choice to listen or talk
It’s my choice to sink or swim
It’s my choice to act on a whim
Choices may be simple or quite intricate
The effects will vary by who they implicate.
Choices may be set by those with power
But those limits may change by the hour.
It’s my choice to like dogs or cats
It’s my choice to eat vegies or fats
It’s my choice as to the music I like
It’s my choice whether to use car or bike
I may not control the choices of others
My choice may be how I react to another
In a vote my choice is one of a lot
I still have my say with an X on a spot.
It’s my choice to love or hate
It’s my choice with whom I mate
It’s my choice to laugh or cry
It’s my choice to quit or try.
Every choice leads to something new
And in making some, I say adieu
If I choose the known, I still will grow
It’s often better with the devil one knows.
It’s my choice whether to follow the rules
It’s my choice what to study at school
It’s my choice as to who to respect
It’s my choice how to use my intellect
If I choose to go the road less travelled
There is greater risk that things may unravel
Yet I have my faith that I am never alone
Even if God’s plan for me is yet unknown.
It’s my choice how to spend my money
It’s my choice to eat jam or honey
It’s my choice to ask for help or not
It’s my choice whether to smoke some pot
Choice is about how I live my life
I would rather harmony than full of strife
I choose happiness and to grow
I am here only once as far as I know.