"The Slide"

As I slide down, perhaps, one last time.

I know the end is nearer than the beginning.

But I will get in line for one more climb up the ladder.

One last trip down the slide.

Who knows, maybe two. 

Reviews

[Gee]

Like this musing on the passing of time.
On site to illustrate our time left on this planet we pull out a tape measure 79 inches, average age of the demise of a British man, then put a finger on the number of our age. Being nigh on 64 years old it is sobering to see my 15 remaining inches(oh my wife wishes)
Good morning

[Randall]

Thank you, Gee. In days past, I have thought I wouldn't make 21 or 30 and so on. But I've taken aim at 100, call me greedy, I want a few more turns at that slide. I'll just have to do the best I can. Never give up on life or Love.

Randall...

[emmajoygreen]

Your words say so much, kindly and warmly, Randall. Every day is a gift, every moment is a person's right to inhale, cheer and laugh out loud! There are times when LOUD is allowed. Yes?

[Randall]

Emma, thank you for your warm, gentle words. You seem to recognize what life is all about.
read moreEmma, thank you for your warm, gentle words. You seem to recognize what life is all about.

Randall...

P.S. I like the way you use the word, Yes? I think it is a wonderful way to use an affirmative answer, yet still leave it as a question. I have used it twice since I read it. But I will give you credit for its originality. And if you trademark it, which I think you should. I will stop using it. :))

[Chris]

Semper Fi, Randall. We are always Marines.

[Randall]

Semper Fi, Chris.

[Michael Sun Bear]

This speaks to me in two ways: Being in my seventh decade I relate to it as recognition of the weariness of growing old. My second read through I took it as reference to reincarnation. It’s interesting and beautiful when a poem allows interpretation to vary based on the reader’s experiences.

[Randall]

Michael, thank you. You are the first to catch that little bit of hope in the last line.

read moreMichael, thank you. You are the first to catch that little bit of hope in the last line.

Randall...

[Relic]

Youth is fleeting...too fleeting. No matter where we are in life, it seems to be that way. I like this and the fact that you show a black and white photo shows the passage of time and the longing to go back and do it all again.

[Randall]

Thank you, Relic. And we all try to keep up, thinking it will last forever. It sounds like you have been down a few metal slides and up a few monkey bars. Maybe even a merry-go-round, a two-pumper, or a three-pumper. Making them go so fast that you thought they were going to rip right out of the ground and take to the air.

Randall...

[Curly Grace]

Your poem feels like a gentle smile toward time, warm, hopeful, and full of that quiet courage you carry so naturally. I love how you turn even the nearness of endings into something tender, something worth climbing toward again.

[Randall]

Curly Grace, Thank you. You are right, we as humans have decided to use time as a measurement for our lives. I prefer the slide analogy, it is much more fun.

Randall...

[Thomas W Case]

That’s the stubborn grace of being alive—knowing the clock’s loud and still asking for one more ride.
Not denial, not bravado… just a human hand gripping the rail and saying again.

[Randall]

Thank you, Thomas. Twenty years ago, I never would have even thought about this. I am beginning to think age does bring a little wisdom with it.

Randall...