Get your best dress on . . .

I'm coming home, returning to that place
That I see as somewhere to sleep, and where,
In theory, I can be myself. I didn't know,
I never knew, that I was running out of time.
That night, joking, a few words in jest,
How could I know it would be the last?
I didn't know I was running out of time.
And so long ago, when life seemed endless,
I blithely carried on, no thought for the future,
Enjoying the moment, and then one day, I
Awoke and realised that I was indeed
Running out of time.
The sands of time are not endless, despite
There being more grains of sand than hours in
The universe. The candle that flickers in
The storm, and that bends its flame to the
Words that fly with such anger between
You and I, it is but a candle that burns in
The storm for ever. And then for
Another hour. One hour beyond
Forever, and there still the candle stands.
I never knew I was running out of time.

© 2ndwitch 24/10/14

(My thanks to Luke Jackson, whose song 'Out of Time' was the inspiration that led to this poem, see http://lukepauljackson.com )