The Melting Of The Snow Poem by Richard Trembath

My time draws near and I must go
Before the waning of the moon
Or melting of the snow,
Before all things that I hold dear
Are finally reduced to rubble.
While I am clear of eye and ear
And able yet to hear the
Chorus of the birds at dawn
And see the setting of the sun.
While yet my stride, tho' robbed of the bold
Fluency and strength of youth,
Does not betray me.
While all my being, slowed by time,
Has not yet reached the line which marks
The point of no return
Where all my will is lost
And dignity no longer marks the man.
While memory can yet retain the
Bold days of my youth
And the glories of the journey, which brought me
To this day which we all knew
Would come in time and now
Is but a few short steps away.
The journey has been hard but
In its way rewarding.
Of course I have regrets but sweet
Recall of days of joy and laughter,
Gone too soon but well remembered
Both by me and those I loved
Along the way.
There will be but few who mourn me for
Most of those whom I held dear have gone before
But haply I will cross the thoughts
Of those remaining, briefly, from time to time
And I can only hope they will recall
A man, upstanding, in his prime,
Before the ravages of time
Brought him unto Life's final threshold
To which I now draw near.