THE LAST CHAPTER

by Helen Rowntree

It’s been a long time since Old Age crept up behind me,

 Since she began nudging me down this darkening path.

Her quiet voice whispers soothingly:

“it’s all right. Don’t be afraid.

The last chapter is always the best.”

Proceeding with faltering steps,

 I hear crunching sounds under my feet, 

They are the sounds of dried memories--

of faded loves, past joys, retreating sadness.

“It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.”

Trees are never as eloquent

 As when they turn red and gold,

 then shed their leaves in a last hurrah.

And shortened days bring early stars,

lighting up the skies of tomorrow.

When the sun departs behind brown hills,

It leaves a glorious trail of yellows, lilacs and pinks. 

The last chapter is yet to be written,

So words must be carefully chosen

and punctuation, precise and true.

At the end of this path, I’ll find a gossamer door,

a soft opening between the Here and the There.

 When the last twilight dissolves into night,

Oh, please! Wrap me in the nebula of beginning again. 

2013

Helen Rowntree—Born in San Francisco.  Lived in El Salvador and Chicago.  Returned to California in 1986. Her life has been so varied she has lived at least eight lives.  Began writing for pleasure in 1993 and hopes to complete her memoir in this lifetime.