Testament

I make much of time
But time has made little of me.
In review, it is blessing.

Notoriety is a curse.
The requirements of fame
Are broad, wide and deep.

I live simply in the glare
Of bright sunshine
As well the gloom of storms.

My skin sheens in summer sweat
And chills in winter cold
Yet I enjoy ruddy health in both.

Friends cheer me with goodwill.
I have no sworn foe.
The crowd owes me nothing, nor I it.

I open my door mornings
Close it evenings
With no fear of either.

My words are testament
To life spent in modesty
My destiny among starry climes.

I have the earth to breathe
And the heavens to exhale
A miracle of biology and theology.

I have loved and been loved.
I have injured and been injured.
I am common.

In war I am at peace.
In peace I am at war.
I relish the value of both.

When I close my book
I do so with little care
Who may be my reader.

Life’s glory is not that I lived
But that in living
I became heir to Greater Glory.