Walk Into The Sunset...

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

This line from Dr. Seuss could perfectly summarize the emotions to parting from the profession that defined who you are. That said, if you leave behind a legacy worthy of emulation, the parting is often a sweet sorrow. My poem, "Walk Into The Sunset", tries to capture a similar emotion...

His arms ached from the vigor of the handshakes
His eyes ached from the tears parting day-long,
The agony far diminished compared to his heartaches
As the strings of his soul strummed his swan song.

He looked pensively at the twenty two yards of gray
That had filled his life with infinite color,
He introspected on his sporting decades of stay
As he grew into a legend from a benign teenager.

His name poignantly reverberated in the air
But all he heard was the stunned silence of his instinct,
His white wardrobe would be mothballed with care
As he haltingly tread past the coliseum's precinct.

For years unknown he was the last bastion of hope
And had held us captive to his prodigy and sweat,
But with time and age, did his mastery elope
And his genius walked into a sublime sunset.

The Last Mile...

"A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step."

Lao Tzu couldn't have captured better the firm intent of a dreamer and persevering soul. It is perhaps a similar feel that prompted me to write "The Last Mile" after a hiatus of nearly five years...

The sky was a bold hue of ochre yellow
The morning, a rapture of carefree tweet,
His vision, the silhouette of a distant chateau
His intent, to soak in all his eyes would meet.

His feet were ploughed into the ochre brown
His boots wore the scuffs of a weary voyage,
His features were stoic, no smiles, no frown
His forehead was wrinkled far beyond his age.

His snowy cloak was freckled in ochre red
Each stain with its tale of triumph and disaster,
In battles, he had followed, in battles, he had led
In all battles though, he stayed a man of character.

His steely eyes now met the ochre gold
And his bronzed face broke into a gentle smile,
The quest for his kingdom would now unfold
As he trudged his shadow through the last mile.