Twilight

TWILIGHT

Shadows overtake the day and evening steals the light away.

I see the maple leaves are falling and the dahlias gently die.
I too am on the threshold of the twilight of my life;

The gloaming, the brief hour between sundown and the night.

Have I been compassionate; have I been fair ?  Did I do more harm or good?
Did I love them beyond measure, hold them as closely as I should?
Will they think of me and smile; remember fondly, happy days,

Or recall with melancholy, every frown and wounding phrase?

I see the ivy's overgrown and the sunflowers gone to seed.

The  roses, speckled brown, fight for space among the weeds.

I know that I did not fulfill my loved ones' every need.

I can't turn back the clock, erase mistakes and try again,

But there's still time to draw them nearer, embrace their dreams, 

To make amends.

As for my dreams, well, some came true and some have flown.

I am not sorry. I cannot  truly miss what I have never known.

And if now and then, for just a heartbeat, I sigh, I am not sad,

I see a humming bird among the bluebells and think, life is not so bad.

I did tolerably well and squarely faced my own ordeals.
So, I continue on my journey to find what wisdom it reveals.

And as I cross the threshold of the twilight of my life,

 I do not fear the coming of the everlasting night.