Where Life Astounds Poem by Barry Middleton

I know you see the fear I feel,
that if I could, I would conceal.
I do not hide it out of shame,
it's just that I cannot explain,
for it is not the fear of death
that dogs my path, my every breath.
It's not the fear of the unknown.
It's more like fear of certainty.
Some say, the truth is reassuring.
I say, their truth is fantasy.
I wish that I might cling to it,
but I remember destiny.
Yes, I was in that place before,
where lions roam and planets soar,
where eagles seek the noonday meal,
and I was quite invisible.
A hundred billion years passed by,
when I was dust and unaware.
Now death conspires to take from me
my sight, the light, the sound and heat,
no more of touch, or love, or hate.
Above the waters of my sleep,
I cannot see you gazing down,
from where all living things astound,
but I'm at peace, my soul unbound,
I'm here to bless this hallowed ground.