Time Rolls On

By James G. Piatt

“Peace, my heart, let the time for parting be sweet. Let it not be death but completeness. 
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.”
Rabindranath Tagore

When the old clock strikes 
the late hours of the night, 
we are nodding in our chairs 
trying to stay awake, 
attempting to elongate 
our hours together: 
Two elderly people 
with few years to spare, 
trying to pause the remaining 
borrowed hours given to us 
from vanishing too quickly. 
But, the hours, 
incapable of being stopped 
from dwindling into the past, 
continue to roll on into memories. 
But, we have found 
there is still time for holding hands, 
time to watch the moon rising 
in the East, 
time for us to watch the stars sparkling 
in the sky, 
and time for us to remember 
the precious moments 
of our lives together. 
And, even though 
there may not be time 
to pick warm apples, 
and apricots 
from our trees this next summer, 
or plant tomatoes, 
squash, 
cucumbers, 
and bell peepers 
in our summer garden, 
there will still be time
for us to hold each other, and
that will suffice.

James was nominated for a Best of Web award and three times for Pushcart awards. He earned his doctorate from BYU. and his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, SLO. He has had four collections of poetry, “The Silent Pond,” “Ancient Rhythms,” “Light,” and “Solace between the Lines,” and over 1,560 poems, five novels, 7 essays, and 35 short stories published worldwide in over 250 publications.