I used to have an automatic gauge.
It didn’t matter where or when I went:
there always was a crowd of folks my age
around me. We are the experiment
abused by apres bellum attitude
(they fought to keep us safe, to make us doze),
confused as cancer, vigorous and rude,
but ever having others to oppose.

I see my way diverged. The major stream
when I was yet a minor took the route
of least resistance. Clinging to a dream
I hooked into this rivulet and doubt
I’ll find me company, abandoned free
without a paddle, gauging only me.