Marathon

Youth has its own way of
          Running in sprints,
Burning the light of a thousand candles,
Searching through nights abandoned of fear,
          Reaching for dreams in a million stars.

Humor abounds in unbridled ambition as
Taste for success adds fuel to the fire
          To quicken the pace as
          It blurs the horizon
And pushes the pack with relentless pursuit.

But steps take a toll
          As the effort increases.
                   The runner grows weary.
                   Focus turns weak til
The wall of epiphany rises and falls
And truth at last is unkindly revealed.

Life is a marathon
          Meant to be run so that every nuance
          Unfolds in its time.
The roses … sweeter,
          The air crisp and clean
When the race and its pace cuddle
          Close to sublime.

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Holding Hands

A timeless couple, well-clear of four score,
Far beyond caring for all but each other,
Out in the crisp of a clear Sunday morning,
Saunter the sidewalks as one, holding hands.
 
“They’ve been a twosome since Christ was a corporal”,
Says Cassie with confidence like an old friend.
“Childhood sweethearts, coupled for life.”
I smiled, then went back to my coffee and book.
 
“How do you know that?” my left hand remarked.
“We talked in the park a few times,” she replied.
"Children all gone, moved away, some have died.
All they have is each other; sad but sweet.”
 
He was a soldier in some foreign hell-hole, while
She wrote him letters and prayed his return,
Swearing to cling to him now and always as he
Came limping back to her, shrapnel and all.
 
He’s slowing down these days, little by little.
She has to wait as he catches his wind.
Moving still closer, patting a shoulder,
Waiting and comforting, holding his hand.
 
“That’s what I want,” Cassie sighs in a whisper.
“They’ve seen so much, had so much in their time.”
Now, in their winter, to live in the mem’ry of
Strolling a lifetime as one
Holding hands.
 

Kisses

Kiss me once, then once again.
Let us linger yet a while
Til every thought is you and I
And we have melted into one.
 
One heart, one mind, one endless thought
To travel cross the universe,
Sweet sensations unexplained
Where explanation holds no course.
 
Confectioners could ply their trade
With sweetness garnered from your lips,
And I am lost to ponder
That I once existed e’er we met.
 
And all the seven wonders fail
To fill my simple mind with glee,
And pale before the joy you bring
With but a moment on your lips.
 
Pause I may and pause I must
To count the ways that life is blessed.
No greater bounty could I ask
Than the subtle treasures of your kiss.
 
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