The Making of Me

Some of my
Earliest memories
Are of building blocks
And tinker toys,
Lincoln logs
And red plastic bricks,
Erector sets,
And countless hours
Contentedly spent
Building fortresses,
Houses, bridges, roads,
Boats and trains.
One construction phase
Passed to another,
And soon I was assembling
Scale plastic models,
And mastering the art
Of paint and glue.
I went on to spend years
Teaching myself
The rudiments
Of carpentry,
Haphazardly building
My tree fort sanctuary.
I discovered an interest
In drawing
And an aptitude
For mathematics.
In retrospect
It seems there was
An obvious pattern
To my childhood activities
That inextricably led me
Down the path
Of life I chose.
No wonder
I eventually became
A civil engineer.
It was almost as if
It was preordained,
As if I had no choice
In the matter.
Not a moment
Of my youth
Was apparently wasted,
For had I not utilized
The days of my youth
As I did,
I might have missed
A step along the way,
And that single step
Could have changed
The course of my life,
And I could easily
Have missed
My calling.