Recessional

By Carolyn Hanks

	One is born
  	  	and begins to grow.
      		    Undaunted -
           		 Full of energy and strength.
	
	One develops
   	         strong, powerful ...
       		     Unconquerable.
         		 A master of one's destiny.
	
	But nothing;
   	       no, nothing
         	    can resist
           		 this relentless force.
	
	Somewhere;
  	      sometime,
      		  around fortyish
           		 the music begins to play.
	
	Low and soft
  	     at first it plays.
        	  Subtly wafting in one's ear,
          		  the "RECESSIONAL" begins.
	
	One does not listen
   	     but rushes on.
       		 Still it plays -
           		 One turns one's ear away.
	
	Around sixtyish,
 	     the crescendo
       		 increases -
          		the strains hard to ignore.
	
	The intensity
   	     of the music
       		 now forces one ...
           		to listen.	






Poetry





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