The Last Gift

The Last Gift…

As the ones we love pass over
to the other side of the veil of life
could it be that they present us with
a final gift;
their lives filled with hope, laughter,
tears, and regrets
ending, changing from human form
to something unseen,
and learning that the past cannot
be changed
and regrets can no longer be corrected;
this is their final gift to us,
if we shall receive it;
we see their opportunities
come to an end
and we recognize the same
possibility in ourselves;
we talk of things they left undone,
ideas never sprouted,
plans never made,
wishes never attempted,
and all that can no longer be righted,
and we sense within a haunted knowing
that the favors and the regrets of our own life
remain with us in the next,
but without any means to alter even one;
this is their final gift to us,
a sense of time,
a sense of purpose,
a sense of now,
a new fire in our bellies lit with the
flame of life,
a new inspiration to live while there is time;
for in their dying breath,
they have so generously given us
this last gift, the gift of life;
Do we accept it?