Seventy-seven
never thought I'd make it
but that's a common view
of twenty somethings
now that I'm here
I'm standing on a hilltop
surveying the terrain
that stretches on
in all directions
save perhaps for one

The present has
at last revealed itself
infinite in its beauty
its transcendence
emptied of ambition
it issues forth
from its deep source
rising and flowing freely
ceaselessly

the past
left heedlessly behind
as I rushed forward
is now transformed
into a treasure chest of memories
each one as precious as
a wedding ring
a sapphire bracelet
a kingdom
in a Russian fairytale

The future
my own end
a wave
out there on
the horizon
moving swiftly
smoothly
still far off and wholly
without malice
simply one
of countless others
this one coming
just for me
to take me back
into the ocean
father/mother
of us all