I stand here on the brink, the gate
Awaiting still my time, my fate
The moment held in old youth’s eyes
Black robe, our long awaited prize
Sweet release from repeated wrong
Five days a week, extending long
For five Sol turns, now here we stand
To the face the world, the cage of man
An inch away; I turn the lock
The hammer falls; I hear the knock
Of age and think back on the past
Heart, hold these smiles and make them last
White smiles: young and wholesome and new,
Their limits yet to spring anew
The world seemed large, yet now so small
Compared to that behind this wall
I reach my hand to know the wood
Worn smooth and carved by those who stood
Before me on this cusp of life
Upon the fine edge of a knife
They, like me, have cut the trail
Listing ‘twixt, succeed or fail
They, like me, have faced the trial
And trodden down the lonely mile
And now we face the point of light
The Tunnel’s end, our own, in sight
And now we push upon the Door
This Portal to our distant shore