The harsh light pierces my eyes
No more the comfort of a heart's beat
I scream at the slap of an unwelcome hand,
And in the glass falls a grain of sand.

I laugh at colours and strange shapes
I stumble on legs unsteady and weak
Those who care for me applaud my swaying stand
And in the glass falls a grain of sand.

I run through the meadow's tall grass
The wind at my heels, free and unburdened.
I chew on a grass stalk, at one with the land
And in the glass falls a grain of sand.

Each morning I check the hair on my face
And compare it with yesterday's growth
Now I have work, and the days fill with rain
And in the glass, falls one more grain.

Now I believe myself a man, and make my way
Filled with the follies of a youth
So sure, confident and vain
And in the glass, falls one more grain.

I find a love, and I am not the centre
Now there is another for whom I care
One at whose side I have lain
And in the glass, falls one more grain.

Children of my own run at my feet
In them I see the freedom I once knew
I revel in their play, their joyous calls
And in the glass, another grain falls.

The children have grown, the house is quiet
In the arms of my wife, I find comfort
Then she is gone, and silence echoes in empty halls
And in the glass, another grain falls.

I sit in the dusk, remembering happy days
I can almost see my wife, my parents
Bathed in light, arms outstretched, calling
And in the glass, the last grain is falling.....


Penned by my hand on the 23rd of Miraman, in the year 386 AF.