Earth Time

by Phyllis Beebe

As I grow close to death all life I treasure more,
Ignoring the permutations of evil,
Glorying in the flight of birds.
I know not what Hereafter has in store
Each day Here so precious,
Beyond all thought and words.

I revel in sights, sounds and smells,
Storing for my soul their memory
To comfort lonely eternity
When I can taste no wine and hear no bells,
Wrapped in empty black
Alone with only me.

And if I wake from life's brief dream
To find that Promised Land
Of love and waiting friends
Still my life has richer been
For living thus
Untill my Earth Time ends.