Dusk

I sit on my garden chair, with a coffee ready to sip Reminiscing about what has been my life's road trip Listening to the rain's steady pitter-patter Yearning to see birds again and hear their chatter The coffee mug says, “ World's greatest Dad” I read the inscription and it makes me glad I think of my daughter and her pristine smile Which makes me feel that my life has been worthwhile My weary eyes have seen it all My rise from the ashes and the occasional fall The warmth of friendship and love profound The feeling of flying and that of being run aground Is a dispassionate look possible into the past? Reviewing the dried leaves and the proud flags on the mast And singularly rate them as good or bad And segregate all actions into trays, titled Sane or Mad There have been punishments and rewards Moments of sheer bliss and counting a broken heart's shards In retrospect, they appear as though they were meant to be Shaping my life, Shaping me My friends have long since gone Making me feel like a boat with sails torn My love departed and tears I cried Till I could no more, and my eyes dried So I grasp my coffee mug tight In frail fingers that shiver, even without fright I think of how I transformed from seed to tree to husk And wait to dissolve into the waiting dusk