Terminus Poem by Justin Reamer

How old am I,
To know that my years are long since gone,
For I have lived my life many years and have
Known that there has been a lot to live for.
Youth has been my zenith,
Where my strength has been with me,
Where I have accomplished much,
Such as the business I have run,
The family I have raised,
The children I have seen grow to become
Wonderful adults, my lovely wife,
Whom I have loved all my life and am glad
To have loved so dearly and so faithfully,
And so much more.

But now, I am old,
Am weak and delicate,
For I cannot walk upon my own legs without
Using a cane to balance me,
And I cannot eat as quickly as I used to,
For I have become sluggish in my eating habits.
My wrinkly hands shake violently as I reach out
To grab something that is important to me,
My eyes are not as great as they had been,
For my vision is starting to become a blur,
Nor is my hearing as excellent as it had been,
For even a drop of water in the sink I cannot hear,
And my invalescence is slowly leaving me.
I am old, and decrepit, too,
But it's okay. I may be tired,
And tired I am indeed,
For fatigue has crept upon me,
And Death has beckoned me closer to him,
But fear him, I do not;
I accept him with joy because my time is coming.
But 'tis fine if I be tired and infirm,
For convalescing I shall not do,
For I have lived a good life,
And a good life I am proud to say, is good.

I have lived a good life;
I have loved my family, my wife,
My children, and my friends,
And my time is coming soon. I am not in a
Rush to die, but when it comes,
I will welcome Death with open arms.
For there is no more ambition I must seek,
No more further longing I must fulfil,
No more acts of desperation,
No more conjuring of daemons from within me,
No more worrying about the uncertainty of the future,
For I have lived my life for God,
And God is with me,
And now, I am in His hands.
Whenever He wishes to call me up,
I shall willingly go with Him.

Fear not, my grandchildren; I do not hate you;
Nor do I wish to leave you like this;
And fear not, my children, for I have always loved you,
And love you still now, even near death,
And fear not, my lovely wife, most beautiful in the world,
For even though people say of thee
As 'old and wrinkly, '
Thou art still my princess and my queen,
For thou art my sweetheart, the most beautiful woman
In the entire world; fear not being alone,
For I have loved you always, my dear,
And I will never stop loving you, even in heaven.
And if I am not here with you physically,
I am here with you in spirit,
For God will provide for you,
And I shall always reside in your heart.
Your memories shall remind you of the good times
We had together, even in thought I may be gone,
Your memories of me will let me live with you,
Until the day you shall join me in Paradise,
Where we shall be happy forever,
Two souls meant for each other,
Never living the toils of this world.

And, yes, though my cancer is killing me,
Along with the disease of the great baseball player,
Lou Gherig, as they call him,
I still love you all, and I will always love you,
Even as I live in heaven.
I will watch over you,
And I will ask God to guide you,
And He will give you a helping hand.
I am glad to have lived my life,
And I am glad to have known all of you,
For you are my beloved forever and always.
But now, I see Death coming for me,
And he has a great chariot waiting for me outside,
So now, I must leave you,
And welcome my fate with open arms. May God bless all of you
As you continue to live great lives. Now is my time.
I bid you all farewell.