Laugh!

Like an old tire
Worn and frayed to its steel belts
I cannot go much further.

This pain fatigues me.

It bites into my flesh
Making the promise
Of a new day
One, rather, of dread
And foreboding.

But every morning
With few exception
I mount up
To take my place
On the firing line.

I confess to you
Quietly and humbly
That it would work in my favor
Were the unfriendly
And gloomy creatures that be
Gain a brief upper hand
And dispatch me home.

I say this not to alarm
Those who care for me
But to cheer them.

If you hear one day
I have been reprieved
And have slipped life’s silver cord
You are to laugh!
Laugh and be glad.

I will be where I always meant to go.