“Maybe the Last Time, I don’t Know”

(with thanks to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards)

Each sorrow, each loss, each terror, each tear
I ask myself, “Is this it?  Is it over?”

Each joy, each blessing, each present, each smile
I ask myself, “Will I know this happiness again?”

Things always happen without warning,
both the bad and the good;
even the expected happens suddenly.

Each moment is its own surprise.

How can one prepare for cataclysm or bliss?

If we go through life always expecting endings and beginnings;
making each “so long” a potential “goodbye”
how do we ever find time to live?

And yet, when one is aware of time, how do we not?

We can only pay attention and appreciate each moment:
happy or sad, frightened or peaceful, angry or content
for that is how we understand our blessings.

That is how we learn to say goodbye, as well as hello;
that is how we learn to live.

Ronda R. Scott-Marak 
© 3 August 2015