One day, in the days ahead
I will find myself sitting on the edge of a ledge
and I will ask myself how I got there.
I will look back at these faces that I love fiercely
and who love me in return
so tender, unquestioning and with totality.
I will see my dad's old face across the blue
and my mom's eyes, so gentle,
will merge true with my beautiful sisters'
who are very dear to my heart.
and it would be too painful to love them
any more than I can now or ever could.
My darling wife would be dancing with the boys.
I will hear the echoes of joy over dinner,
first steps and pubertal voices,
fights and hugs and smiles and tears
in the whisper of the cool ocean breeze.
And my boyhood friends so dear from youth gone fast
will roll aching in laughter and mirth and beer
singing songs of manly victories and broken dreams.
And I will fondly remember those precious secrets I can only know
of loves lost and those that cannot be
and I will still be content,
and I will still be happy,
for I will have loved as much as I could love, and more.
I will look far beyond the horizon,
and I will be overwhelmed and humbled
by these lives and love that came my way
in the vast expanse of time and space.
I will ponder at the immeasurable meaning they bring to my living,
and I will be honored and blessed with bliss,
for I will know I will have lived a worthy life.
When that day comes that I am sitting on that cliff
I will look at the rocky abyss below
safe from the violent waves that thunder the sound of my years.
And I will hold my breath in awe at sitting
on top of the world.