Hello, McFly

Sometimes I wish I could
go Back
to the simpler times
The 'Hakuna Matata', no worries
except Mighty Morphin' or Ninja Turtles for
Halloween,
dinner- pizza or Mac & Cheese?
those little league, ride a bike,
playing in my fisher price
plastic kitchen, cooking random
shit with my sister
times

Why can't I build a
flux capacitor
Strap on my red bubble vest
Call Doc Brown, get my Marty
McFly on and go Back in Time?
Not to make out with my mom, or change
the past, but to simply revel
in the fact that no Libyan assassins were
after me- I'd hit the gas
rev'd to 88 miles,
clock my throttle in at 1.21
Gigawatts
Just you watch, this bolt of lightning
will shift the hands of fate
like a watch, but I may never find my
way back- can I remember the days?

The days when worries weren't over
credit, debt, bills, deadlines,
tax audits or court appearances
the onslaught of responsibility
fear of failure,
because I have to start my career
on time
shit, what year is this?

Wish I could turn back, look at
a past Paul and tell him
how good he has it,
How every second, every moment
should be cherished, he should
hold it close to his chest like
'My Buddy' or the stuffed doll of a
Teddy Ruxpin

But is this road reversible?
Can I hop in my 1985 Delorean
fueled by pure plutonium
leave the worries of adulthood
and beam back to when our House
was Full
Would it bring back those lost, or
put a stop to some huge disaster
I'd be burdened with the task
of having to save so many,
stop the bleeding-
or on 9/11 call a bomb threat
into the Trade Center just
to prevent a catastrophic
crash from reaching full casualties
due to distraction of the
watchful eyes of God

Could I regain all I've lost?
Or would I be destroying some pattern
of all miraculous
things which come after the collapse
of our castles
Is there any moral gain
in preventing major crimes
because in harsh times, we test
character, our shield of resolve
will truly shine
we climb skyscrapers, just to feel
the wind at our sides

Should I ascend Mt. Kilimanjaro
reaching the ultimate plateau
yet be distracted, staring down at my
2015 Nike Air Zoom, shock
technology adjusted McFly shoes
rather than peering out at the
wonder which is creation all around-
obsessed with my worries
more than picturesque
volcano-cone lifted views,
as if it's no gift to be
at the peak of Everest or K2

Or can I revel in the present?
Look forward to all to come...
proposing to my honeybee
one day in some romantic place,
then all her tears of ecstasy
which will flood, when we stream the aisle
Earth angel- Earth angel
please be mine
the triumph of time well-spent
alongside a wonderful wife- now that's
the 'Power of Love'

A future full of hills and bumps,
I'll take each one as a
character-building tactful test
though no battle may be fully flattering
or adulant
I won't run, but embrace what's
to face me- like the first steps and
bright reverence of a laugh from Delilah
the way her mouth curves
'cause she has her mother's smile

Or my son, on the incumbent day
which he'll arrive
fulfilling my fatherly dreams
only if I stay on path of mortality
owning up to my own demise
It is the real purpose I exist for,
creating, giving soul and vitality
to something that breathes
through written & blood descendants
these words will last much longer
than me

So fuck the trail of flames
in my car tires' wake,
fuck a change of fate-
this is the punch to Biff's face
letting me regain
my own sense of strength,
this young McFly has just
become master of his own 'today'
boldly, I'll venture on- to dance,
play, cry, be hurt and
build a family-
see the embers in my kid's eyes
because after all, though I
may have lived through all of mine-
still want to provide
and give my children
their very own
simple times.





(c) Paul LaTorre 2010