Requiem

If proffered choices to forsake The paths through life I chose to take Not one I’d bend to gain the best Yet leave behind the untried rest. No man ought judge where I have been; Through triumph, loss, forbidden sin. And as my trip soon nears its close I’d ne’er regret the paths I chose. For no braver man is he Who faces windward, not the lee And rides the curling crest of life Oe’r endless waves of untold strife To find his place on far-off shore And rest in peace, forever more. I am complete, my life fulfilled, My journey done, my voice soon stilled And yet small deeds I leave behind I beg may benefit some mankind. I’ve done the best that I could do; My legacy now waits review.