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Flying wisdom

I felt somewhat nervous

Navigating past the departure gates

My first time flying alone

I had flown before

But always had my parents there

I was sixteen

Old enough to make my own choices

But having second thoughts

I wandered slowly

And found my gate

I sat down to wait

Beside an old man

We said hello

Then we talked about hockey

And we talked about drinking

When we wound up on women

He asked for permission

To share a little story

And he started off by saying

I’ve always took a liking

To women of all kinds

Ever since I was young

Showing off to the neighbors

Got my first kiss

Way back in kindergarten

And ever since then

It’s been a battle

First I thought

This man’s a little crazy

Losing his head

Then I found

Three reasons to listen

It’s calming me down

There’s nothing to do

And I do love girls

So I asked him to continue

If he could spare the time

And he said

Way back in high school

There was a cute girl

I thought she was cool

She was so pretty

It made me feel like a fool

We started dating

And I was damn near heaven

Then a few years later

Maybe I cheated

And maybe I didn’t

So she smashed up my heart

And she took a couple pieces

Heaven turned to hell

I even moved away

To avoid her face

That’s when it happened

I began to realize

That this story sounds

A little more

Than a little like me

So I kept listening

Hoping maybe I’ll learn

Something I need

His tale kept going

Now he was off to college

As he said

My heart was in pieces

Then one at a time

Ladies showed me some fun

Too bad the price was so steep

As they all took their piece

Beaten and lonely

I made my way

Into the real world

Only twenty-two

But my confidence was shattered

So I latched right on

To the first pretty girl

That would take me in

Hitched before

I hit twenty-four

Then the old man

Gave a sad chuckle

I knew without a doubt

That he was insane

Given up so young

By now his story

Was way beyond me

And I think he could tell

Because he stopped with his memoir

And when he spoke again

His words surprised me a little

Because he said

Learn to let go

So you can keep your heart

I didn’t know what he meant

And he could tell he had lost me

So he pulled out a paper

And spoke as he handed it to me

I wrote a poem

Way back in my day

It’s no use to me now

Here, you can have it

I opened it up

And saw some lines

Handwritten and messy

Something forced me to read it

Right then and there

Life

There were women that I loved

And some with no name

There were women that shrugged

And some with a little fame

There were women that I hugged

And some with no shame

But no matter what

There’s going to be that one

That I always blame

Then I looked up

So the old man told me

Learn to move on

And by god you’ll be happy

That’s when I changed my mind

This man wasn’t crazy

Just a little beaten

I felt kind of bad

I had to know

So that’s when I asked him

You blame the girl from high school?

Though I felt pretty certain

He just shook his head

And he said

I blame the five year old girl

From the first week of school

Because, like all the others

If she hadn’t let me kiss her

I never would’ve missed her

That one tricked me good

Made me feel like I saved her

We had a good laugh

Then I had a deep thought

Something about how every man

Should carry around their knowledge

And share it willingly

Just as this man has

I pondered about how long

He had carried this poem

Around in his pocket

They gave the order

It was boarding time

But the old man and I

We just waited

The line would be long

The old man gave a yawn

Then he spoke up

Every man on earth

Has to have a big heart

Then a little silence

Followed by the rest

The world’s going to take it

Women, work or even addiction

You have to save a little up

And store it away

Because at my age

There’s only one thing to do

And you can’t reminisce

If you’ve given it all away

Your mind remembers time

Your heart remembers feelings

And once your brain fades away

The only thing you’ll have left

Are those feelings

Though you won’t know why

They’ll still keep you happy

The line shrunk down

So we both stood up

He put out his hand

I shook it like a man

And I said

Thank you, sir