the boldness of your words has faded
and the heat of your passionate heart has cooled
with the hours piled one on another
until all thought of action is smothered in the wine of sophistry
until all thought of release from this course has vanished

you bend to the wind of change
hoping to find sweeter fortune
but you cast about with careless hand at the proper set
for the sail and loose the tack
you are running blind into the maelstrom
you are without rhyme or reason in the land of logic

                                   the sun slowly seeps thru the narrow window
and heats the burnished dark wood
igniting the scents of oak and polish
bringing back the rich and deep aroma of childhood
and mansions of gilded iron and stone
the years when your path seemed sure and true
when your destiny and purpose seemed so clear

but as the sun dies in the west
and the cold of night summons itself to your heart
you wish once more to find that heat
of youth
that stalwart strength that never failed you
and kept your heart from troubled thoughts
in dark times
you wish once again that she was here
that she had lived
to be at your side this dark dark night

as the last few rays of the sun
slip away from the narrow window
my friend
i shed a tear for one and all of us
that have passed this cold dark place
we have buried many friends
we have seen far too much
and have felt so helpless in the face it all
as these last few rays of sun slip away
i think of her
i think you my friend
i wonder how much longer till i join you
in the distant land