Do not mourn too soon.
Though he must go
Do not send him off
Before his time.
Parting has its schedule
Unknowable,
Grief will come
Within the reach of the climb.
Time cannot be rushed
Pushed out of juncture
By the vanity of control.
It is a story told
To the last page,
A source of pride
Of pride, not of rage.
Do not ask the sequence
Who first and who remain?
Order is a harbinger
Quite late the ports that trips obtain.
Book the cruise,
Plan the journey,
Assume what fits
Will stay the tourney.
Do not mourn too soon,
Let each outing
Have its afternoon.
