an instant

is all it ever takes

for love to enter in

to still the heart

to tremble knees

make butterflies begin

a gentle assault

within my soul

send logic out the door

and clouds to circle

’round my brain

so sense is mine no more.

a flash

is all it ever takes

for love to say farewell

to still the heart

to tremble knees

make butterflies be still

a brutal assault

upon my soul

send logic out the door

and clouds to darken

my mind, my brain

so sense is mine no more.

as it begins

so too it ends

without a hand from me

love enters in

love says farewell

as I must say to thee.

It was a late, chilly, October afternoon,

when the cry from my lips were first heard.

I entered the world without provocation,

without knowledge, without future thoughts.

There was no manual that came along with my birth,

telling me what should be expected,

as well as surprises, or, mistakes.

Those were all things learned from growing.

Lessons learned.

Growing up, being or trying to be,

the progidal son never really struck a chord,

always a day late and a dollar short,

and any failings meant subjegation;

meaning an onslaught of pain was forthcoming.

Price paid for coming into this world,

to be half-loved, half-despised.

All that which was is no longer,

the lessons learned became invaluable.

Learning respect, responsibility, love and even pain;

it is all in the invisible handbook called: Life.

We fall in love, marry, have children, do the best we can.

We work, we play, we rest, we pray.

We hope tomorrow will be better than the days gone by.

Now, years creep in, reminding me in subtle ways,

the years of my youth; a flashing, glancing memory,

can never be replicated or duplicated, only remembered.

It is the now of it that surrounds me.

That one day, I will leave as I entered,

with a last cry of life,

and still no manual to tell me what awaits me.

The show is set, with curtains, black

Stage lights ’cross her entrance

And waiting just backstage, she’s dressed

Gold flowing hues, her raiment

The hour’s near; the dark of night

She’ll make her grand appearance

And, without sound she enters, LIGHT

The star in all her brilliance

Dark for now has found its end

Fleeing are the shadows

Hope spreads ’cross the purple sky

When LIGHT develops colors

Hues in myriads of shades

Across the whole landscape

The pigments saturate beneath

Full of life; awake

The animals all greet her

The rooster crows for dawn

The owls go back to sleep

To the chorus; Birds of Song

The audience to her west

Gaze at her embrace

Her warmth kisses their faces

All the world’s her stage

A tip of the hat to Shakespeare;

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances....

Often I wonder,

How will things be when I leave?

There are numerous possibilities

I could go peacefully,

Surrounded by those who love me

I could suffer a brutal end,

Bleeding out, cold and alone

No matter the cause,

This life will one day end

Merely a fact of life,

A guaranteed outcome

It's a cruelty we all must endure,

The price of being alive

"Half the battle is the dramatic entrance."

~Master Shifu, Kung Fu Panda (paraphrased, I think :)

They all say they want to go out with a bang, to be

remembered.

Maybe, we should go out with

a smile.

Maybe the entrance is half the fight.

Maybe to be remembered you must

enter with a bang.

Make yourself known so you can

build your own future like a house of legos.

Start of strong to finish ahead.

Half the battle is the dramatic entrance, my friend,

to succeed you must start strong.

Maybe you start off with a problem,

but when you fix it the problem becomes

kerosene:

it either burns you

or fuels you.

Maybe you seem to be on a short road,

and you must find a way to deviate from it's doomed course,

tell the stories of your struggle, so

you can help others start with a bang, too.

Let's enter everything with a bang, start off ahead

to stay ahead.

Let's succeed,

let's go in with a bang.