As he got older

 As he got older


As he got older he put out fires

Lit in previous decades by his passions 

The embers glowing for a while

They burnt up all pretensions. 


No need to save, no need to spend

He had honored these traditions

Full and well when passions furnace

Required blind submission. 


At peace with man, at peace with God

No great goals left to achieve

Once a time for strident action

Now a time for doing nothing. 


There is a time for watching rivers

As they course their way to sea

Observed by man but unimpeded

Their journeys of a thousand years. 


We are that piece in the mosaic

No need to strive for more

Nothing added and nothing less

In the grand designer’s plan. 


As the soul turns back and sails

To the port of start and end

To the harbor of the spirit

Failing flesh can now ascend. 

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