Embrace

We arrive unexpectedly

Kicking and screaming

Pushed roughly from that peaceful womb

Into the chaos that is world

And life

So much to do, see, feel, say!

We jump in, running fast

Stretch, catch and return

Shouting, laughing, crying

Loving -

Experiencing life,

Collecting joys and sorrows

By the armful.

Eventually

The process will reverse

We leave the chaos of the world

Retreat into gentle, constant days:

Oatmeal for breakfast

Pudding at supper

Naps in the dappled shade.

Vision and hearing begin to diminish

Oh, the relief!

The cacophony of life, the dissonance of

8 billion souls

Finally muffled.

Time now

Is marked by slower hands.

We can revisit memories

Ponder goals achieved

Loves lost -and found.

And so we are pulled

Gently back into the quiet spaces.

At night we sleep with blankets

Tucked securely all around

Dreaming into eternity.