Standing in the While

 

Standing in the While

 

Sitting still while being still

is swallowing while being swallowed

 

is flying with the geese following the ancient calls

while being born and while dying

 

grasping madly at life while letting go

peacefully and without regret

 

seeing without being

while being without seeing

 

is crawling to walk so to run

while being young

 

and running until a stumble

becomes a fall and another and another

 

and then a chair becomes a bed

while the urge accepts its limit.

while the horizons lose their distance

  

finding wisdom and grace

while placing objects away lost forever

while memories slip away

into the alabaster vase

 

a slow pace taken to a resting place

where stand now

just a name and a date to remember

 

while prayers become the eulogy

that tells of the child who became

a man while life grew old

and his life was told

in a celebration - now

by those who too

will follow.