Are You Afraid?

Are you afraid, are you left cold

By the thought of our parting,

The final separation

On that lonely day

Somewhere in the distance,

The unknowable future that

Folds the Now and the Then

Irrevocably nearer?

In the Now we are

Infinite, unknowable beings

Loyal to ourselves and the world,

Gazing with wonder on the possibilities,

The butterflies of jester time which

Flit about before falling away,

And handpicking the future

That will not be us.

In the Then we are

Infinite, unknowable beings

Loyal to ourselves and the world,

Gazing with pride at our accomplishments,

The trophies of endurance won by the years,

Counting the losses and measuring the gains

And glancing sidelong at the blurred space

Where we once stood.

But if the space remains filled,

We will walk headlong into the years

With hands clasped,

Holding between us

The Now and the Then.