Late Days
When our fellow human beings
Start to ail, and fail, and fall,
And darken our horizon view,
It can our timid hearts appal.
Some have span of time beyond us ,
Others fail to equal ours,
A few born in our very year
Remind us of the hastening hours.
But creatures of the earth around us,
Pets, and those of field and farm,
Know no past and see no future
In their lives imbued with calm.
Loved ones who have gone before us,
Friends whose travail gives us sorrow ,
Leave us footprints on their path,
That soften fears and reassure
That we can yield to our tomorrow.