Four in the morning,

Autumn darkness comes early

despite the August reign.

 

I have buried my head between sheets

and my own powerful melancholy

as I try to understand how I feel

today.

 

A moment, as fleeting as the life of a burning star

or the breath of a swatted Mayfly

ripped from existence before it has had chance

to mate, to find true love

in a heartbeat, this is how it could be.

 

I should celebrate this exploding star,

for in living, I can now truly fade

having achieved an aim, a dream,

for a second as I stand before the judge,

the peers, smiling friends and well wishers

clutching a piece of my mind in their broad hand,

today,

at least today,

Time proved to the world

I once lived.

 

Ian D. Hall 2018