Journey, a poem

Journey

I do not know the purpose of my journey,
nor what may be its destination;
this does not mean there is none.

Further down the road I may learn,
or on the far side of the hill.

I have been shown where my road begins;
only by walking it can I find its end.
Travel with me till our paths diverge.

Each of us makes our own pilgrimage;
the road and the journey are one.

Stephen Brooke ©2025

Best Seller

Blockbuster best-sellers rarely impress me. I recently tackled ‘The Godfather’ and found it long-winded, info-dumpy, and full of ‘telling,’ with characters who are more like caricatures.

Puzo was primarily a screenwriter, not a novelist, so I understand that he was just getting the story out, without a great deal of thought as to style. ‘The Godfather’ really works better as a movie. As a novel, it was a ‘did-not-finish.’

Maybe I’ll read a little Evelyn Waugh now to clear my palette and remind myself what good writing is like.

Mandate

There was no mandate in the 2024 presidential election. There was no mandate in 2020 nor in 2016. All three were essentially coin-tosses, with a few thousand votes here and there making the difference.

Indeed, all the elections in this century have been very close. We are divided into two camps, nearly equal in numbers. The two-party system helps to perpetuate this divide, stifling any other voices.

One doesn’t like the current administration? The only alternative is to vote for the other party. We end up voting against someone more than we do voting for someone.