If I were 22

(Today's prompt was to write an "If I were ..." poem. Here's what emerged.)

I would go abroad
instead of racing right into a job.
I would consider marriage by arrangement
and would put more trust in faith and stars to align.

I would learn all the languages I still don't know,
read the books I haven't read,
score 100 percent on the classic films quiz
and know every song within hip-hop like the back of my hand.

I would bicycle across Europe,
and trek the Annapurna Circuit.
I would walk the Pacific Crest and Appalachian trails,
and island hop through Oceania.

I would move all over the world
and thumb my nose at the idea of settling down.
I would live out of suitcases, hotel rooms,
and cars. And, at the same time, I would plant
seeds and dream of living on a farm,
where I could live out retirement
writing books, cooking, and shucking beans
for winter soups.