Time Do Not Leave Me Like An Orphaned Child Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

Time do not leave me like an orphaned child
Though I have recklessly spent your golden coins
On dreaming what better expense
On gazing out into the watercoloured trees
Pale green in April against grey skies
I feel I am fading, my face like a diminished flower in each mirror
Wavering reflection in every looking glass
The future ghost of myself in constant rehearsals
My soul aching to break free barely tethered to my ribcage too early
Time do not diminish me I pray thee wait,
Admonish me not for being tardy
Let my small candle be renewed and blaze up in
A mysterious wind
Lest the opaled gates of Eternity
Open too hastily for me.
before there is time enough to proffer
These bouquets of farewells, regrets
Joys without measure undeserved
To the luminous, the terrible earth.
I have loved.
nary angela douglas 8 april 2024