The End Comes

A Poem by joychastagner

Good bye to what is dear,
tight chest,
uncomfortable stress,
shallow breathing,
long sighs,
looking away,
staring blankly,
in memory living again,
holding tightly
to what is already gone,
the end comes.

Even if eternity is waiting
and right choices have been made,
and time is short
with so much more ahead,
the end here,
on this earth,
still comes,
there is nothing to be done.

Now it’s remembrance,
and a vacant place,
odd turnings to speak,
to reach for,
to share,
but no one is there.

Yes, it is only for awhile,
and hope is brilliant, alive,
and reunion is sure, anticipated,
and, yes, there is no fear.

For now acceptance
is what must be,
a continuing,
grabbing hold of today,
and living with passion.
Live!

And in that living,
passionate, alive living,
it’s still okay,
it’s a wonderful thing,
a good thing,
I think,
a kind of honoring,
to sit back,
now and then,
with long sighs,
and stares to nowhere,
and to remember.