We yearn, we pine, we crave,

hope for, long for and aspire

at life's different times and

different stages. We hunger

for knowledge, wealth, power,

recognition; for love, happiness,

health, long life, peace of mind,

freedom, tranquillity, togetherness.
 
 

Some pine for simpler days,

when life was less harried,

less complex; when people

smiled instead of frowned,

and one could still relate to

most of nature's ways. The

days when the coined term,

"environmental pollution"

had not been invented yet.
 
 

Others look to the future,

to inner and outer space,

inventions undreamed of

that supersede and replace.

Space stations, orbits,

planetary missions,

exploration, colonization

extraterrestrial forms of life

experiences unfathomed.
 
 

Yearning, wishing, hankering,

hoping and dreaming, all

ingredients necessary for

progressing, striving, achieving.
 

HERBERT HOLZBAUER

ŠApril 1997