Truth

A beautiful dawn
breaks for me
as too many of my friends
live in twilight,
assured night will come,
soon enough.
The world could end
by lunchtime, but I’ll
leave this moment alone.
Let it breathe.
Allow it to flourish.
Grief will come in time,
in all its untidy dress,
complicated and deep,
feeling a lot like fear.
Before that, however,
lifelong friends may
think enough of each other
to lie once in awhile,
even as they traverse oceans and
mountains and valleys of emotion,
preparing for a final sunset,
certain there’s another way
to be in the world,
even without a remedy for death.
Uncomfortable as it is,
afraid as we are,
we can only listen to our breath,
find a calm corner inside,
engage with the world as it is right now,
and live with an open heart.
In the end, I think,
our lives are
simply stories,
the world proceeding
with its plan.