Small Bridge Over A Little Creek

We enter the world with our parents being Roughly twenty to thirty years older than us; That distance of time at first seems Like an unimaginable gulf of eternity Through our first twenty years; There is no concept that they are remotely like us Facing the same difficulties and challenges; They are simply older authoritarian figures, Albeit kind and loving authoritarian figures. Somewhere after our first twenty years We begin to view them as human, Maybe in a judgmental fashion, Maybe in an understanding fashion; Maybe we begin to even notice the similarity Of physical features and personal characteristics With which we share; We may even seek their wisdom and guidance In concerns of the heart like marriage Or concerns of economical survival. Then one day when we are approaching fifty, They are now seventy or eighty and mostly likely Securely in decline; We ourselves have declined since days of youth With issues of weight or graying hair or hair loss And we realize now that the distance of time That was once a gulf of eternity is now a small bridge Over a little creek; We can see in their suffering the journey We will soon commence. It is a journey of farewell to joy, Gradual bidding adieu to activities and pleasures That we are no longer capable of performing Or for which we can no longer gain satisfaction; Sporting activities will give way to walking And walking will give way to sitting or resting; Sexual appetite will cease to exist Or at least to find meaningful expression, But often we are given a strong solace In enduring affections and gestures Such as kissing and touching hands; Even the joy of a meal begins to cease In upset stomach or regurgitation Or in some cases the complete inability to swallow. All that is left is the extinguishing of light To the earthling kingdom And the entering into an unknown kingdom That could be heaven or hell or reincarnation Or simply becoming nutrients for the revitalization of the earth; Wherever the next kingdom leads, we inevitably must go; And everything in this kingdom that we cherish, We have no choice but to relinquish.