Accidentally on Purpose (Part 4)

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Accidentally on Purpose
(Part 4) (conclusion)

Career
Choice #11

Never having
enough,

Life was
really tough,

But at twelve I was ready to see,

What the
world had in store for me,

With the art
of sales I came to grips,

Because newspaper
subscriptions won trips,

Competitive
commissions rewarded my work,

I didn’t
need much for my perks,

Then on to
bigger, better things,

Selling of
tractors, diamond rings,

I sold items
the customer didn’t really need,

I was caught
in a whirlwind of my own greed,

The three I’s,
Income, Independence, Impact,

Make
something happen, a salesman’s facts,

I sold dreams
well because I was bold,

But I felt
in danger of losing my soul,

So I sold
out, didn’t hesitate,

(Of course
later I sold real estate),

Career
Choice #12

Sculpted and
manicured, bushes and lawns,

As a teen I used my brains and my brawn,

Met with
clients and nursery personnel,

They could
trust me, things were going well,

Lined up my
customers for weekend spots,

A very rigid
schedule, right on the dot,

My business
was complicated and vying with sports,

I was
earning a reputation as a businessman of sorts,

There were
several men working for me,

Until off to
college I went, the world to see,

I’ve often wondered
what might have been,

But I’d make
the same choices all over again,

I left
preparing the grounds for preparing my mind,

But I enjoyed
working outdoors, I couldn’t leave it behind,

Career
Choice #13

A sting
operation was in store for me,

Little did I
know I would be handling bees,

When I helped
a beekeeper they got under my skin,

What a
precarious occupation I soon found myself in,

It was
outdoor work which I enjoyed,

Nature
surrounded me and I was self-employed,

More than a
hobby, beekeeping was still part-time,

But I made
more income than teaching full-time.

I rented out
bees for pollination every spring,

Then queens
and package bees became my thing,

Honey was
the least profitable part on my list,

My three
phase business was angel kissed,

The bee
business survived flood and drought,

It was
humming along until divorce snuffed it out,

But then I
had time with my children to play,

I could
leave queens and things for another day,

Career
Choice #14

There were
careers I said no because I had doubts,

I could have
made money, so what was that about?

My career
selection became a matter of the heart,

Becoming a
teacher was the best place to start,

Teaching
students to live life abundantly became my fate,

I didn’t
need fame but I wanted my students to be great,

I won’t know
if they were successful in living their lives,

They’d be
too occupied adjusting their inner drives,

Someday when
our lives merge on some busy street,

What will
they tell me when we chance to meet?

I hope they smile
and point at me with pride,

And say, “Your
class was great, I enjoyed the ride,”

From lower
grades to middle, on through high school,

They knew if
they tried, failure was against my rule,

And those
who pushed for the higher grades,

Could pick
and choose college or trades,

For careers
were not mine alone to choose,

In this game
students could win or lose,

After many
long years I gave up the daily grind,

I didn’t
want to be searching for my long lost mind,

Career Choice
#15

Writing is
something I would do in shade or sun,

It was
therapeutic, calming, my idea of fun,

I was
painting a picture, only with words,

My stories
would wander about like tipsy birds,

I wrote news
articles, short stories, even two books,

Not much
would sell, editors wouldn’t look,

But words
kept oozing out my pores,

And I kept writing
poems by the scores,

Life was
crazy as I was dragged through life’s dirt,

I tried to
keep busy and laugh when I hurt,

Single
parent and lonely, occupations galore,

I decided to
write about life and forget keeping score,

I have a website
shopping mall along with my posts,

I get to
write poems to draw visitors and I am the host,

And
books?  I hope someday to publish a few,

My writing
is my life that changed as it grew,

Poetry and
stories are waiting to be told,

I’ve got to
release them, I’ve got to be bold,

It’s my
final frontier that I’ll have to face,

There are so
many stories to write I’ll have to race,

For a writer
with stories that he just has to tell,

Will drive
him insane, as you know quite well.

Related articles

• Accidentally on Purpose (Part 3) (savings2envy.org)
• Accidentally on Purpose (Part 2) (savings2envy.org)
• I Became a Writer Accidentally on Purpose (savings2envy.org)