A Sunday Afternoon Poem

Poem of Life

In the dawn of my life,
as a carefree child
savoring a long future,
disregarding any end,
I embarked on my journey
like a drop of water
through the unforeseen long stem of a beautiful flower.
I stretched and squeezed bravely
into the green white light,
my purpose hidden from my view.
I thought not upon my past,
it being short in stature,
or upon my future
out of sight.
I seemed limitless
in the present.
Along with all nature,
I lived fully
delighting in my expanding rainbow of life,
its colors and definition appearing
and disappearing in casual and causal stages.
Stunning joys and burning sorrows presented themselves
through my romp and chase of momentary desires.
I devoured it all.

In the twilight of my life,
as a motherless child,
I am told not to dwell upon that past I created
or the pains resulting from my childish pursuits.
Fretting about my visibly brief future
and my imminent finality,
I aspire to live totally in my present.
I regard that burst of a beautiful flower,
so closely seen now
at the end of my stem.
I struggle to push my fears aside.
I have finally traveled far enough
to selflessly nourish the bloom
With my allotted time here,
although not choosing to do so.
Whether it be a rose or a dandelion matters little
at this late point.
The end is the same.
My unknown future,
faced with nonchalance
in an earlier time
is now a nearer mystery,
Its fierce beauty is feared by the child still within me
but tauntingly beckoned by braver others
content to serve the purpose
and give up their coloring of time immemorial
while I sit with my primary colored crayons still in my lap
poised to continue my re-creation.

~ Annette I. Sandrock