One More To Go

When he was an infant
And had finished feeding from one breast
She said tenderly, here
One more to go

He grew and crawled
Until the moment came when he made
His first step
His mother said, good boy, now
One more to go

She fed him with a spoon
While he turned his head when the bowl was almost empty
She said, finish it little man, you must grow
One more to go

His family took him for a walk one nice day
He had his little arm in one sleeve of the jacket
Someone said
One more to go

He helped his father in the garden
Planting potatoes
At the end of the day he was told, good boy
One more to go

His schooldays arrived
He made something from brightly coloured paper
When he showed it with pride to his teacher
She said it is not finished yet
One more to go

When he kissed shyly his first girl
She said oh! How nice
One more to go

He was merry and bright and drank with his friends
He had already had a few but they said, come on old boy
One more to go

He married and settled down
The first-born arrived and he looked at his young son
And his happy wife, and she said let us have a girl
One more to go

He worked and worked, then holidays approached
When the last working day came he sighed with relief
And said, thank goodness
One more to go

They all had lots of fun playing near the sea
In the woods, and in the sun
All this too came soon to an end
One more to go

Again he worked and struggled
Had pains and joys
The road was not always smooth
The sea not always calm
But it helped when he said
Come on, don’t let it get you down
One more to go

His children grew, a boy and girl
The boy married and this left him only with his girl
One more to go

At one time he had some close friends
Some he neglected while others let him down, only
One more to go

And when the moment arrived
To overcome the final hurdle
It would be the very last time
He would hear or say
One more to go

• Henri van Bentum, Toronto, 1971