The True Way

Have you ever braved the lonely road?
For we are here but a short time,
And the wind blows us all away.
Have you ever braved the lonely road
And found your true way?

Have you ever sung your own song?
For we are here but a short time,
And the wind blows us all away.
Have you ever sung your own song
And found your true way?

Have you ever loved?
For we are here but a short time,
And the wind blows us all away.
Have you ever loved

And found your true way?

Literary Challenges

Retiree

Morning stroll.

Crossing a bridge over a busy highway.
Below, cars jockey for position.
At high speed, they dart in and out,
Passing one another,
Frantic to get somewhere quickly,
No matter the risk.

I walk on.

Every forty yards or so, I hear the next birdsong…
Each repetitive, but musical and unique, and therefore beguiling.
Relentless, they call out for a mate every morning.
They are so determined,
And will not be denied this.

Now in my 70s, I am in no hurry to get anywhere.
Nor do I need to mate.
What’s left?
Musing from quiet observations.

No One Else Now

How alone I am.
No one else now.
Hasn’t been for a while.
Isolation…an empty corridor leading to but another empty corridor.

How alone I am.
No one else now.
But there is unbounded freedom, too,
And the world beckons, an open invitation.

How alone I am.
No one else now.
But will I succumb
Or will I explore?

Silence

Never proud in death’s sad embrace,
And when the winds blow and the harsh rains descend,
The soul doth but meekly ascend.

Here but a few moments in fleeting time,
When it is time to go, we do not mend,
As the hourglass comes to its crushing end.

Nothing to say about such a journey…
No soothing comment for who must follow.
Silence — the only reply from the cavernous hollow.

Divergent Attitudes Toward Death

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”  Dylan Thomas

“Just as if a god told you that you would die tomorrow or at least the day after tomorrow, you would attach no importance to the difference of one day, unless you are a complete coward (such is the tiny gap of time); so you should think there no great difference between life to the umpteenth year and life to tomorrow.”  Marcus Aurelius

“You are a little soul carrying a corpse.”  Epictetus

Do Not Go Gentle…

Seneca

Let It Go

All the disappointment;
All the heartache;
All the despair.
Let it go,
Let it go,
Let it go.

All the hardship;
All the failure;
All the sorrow.
Let it go,
Let it go,
Let it go.

All the grievance;
All the resentment;
All the anger;
Let it go,
Let it go,
Let it go.

Be here now,
Be here now,
Be here now.
That is all.