Balance

Growing older is not for sissies.

Bodies change and complain

About insidious restrictions of mobility which,

Over countless decades,

We had taken for granted.

Relationships shift,

Bringing surreal permutations and combinations

Of relief and grief.

Death takes loved ones from our midst.

Some pass gracefully, peacefully,

Surrounded by light, prayer, singing,

Leaving a sweet taste.

Others depart precipitously,

Leaving us in shock.

Dwelling inside the courage

To face the passing years head-on:

Blessed awareness of balance.

Nature, every year,

Knows to shed what is no longer needed

Before buds sleep,

Then surface,

Then burst into bloom

With or without our approval.

New births,

Loving individuals

And changing seasons

Stimulate our senses and fill our souls

With their splendor.

This power to heal never wavers.

Abundant seeds of gratitude, sown into 2012,

Promise to yield a bountiful harvest.

Marcia Bernstein