I’ve suffered a loss A death in the family. As is so often the case, I know I had known this day would come, Eventually. Ugh. Now that it’s here it’s time to reflect on the time spent together. Good times. Passionate times. Usually motivating. Sometimes, soul crushing - Discouragement intertwined with intense longing. Always intoxicating. For all of those days, I’ll forever be grateful, Albeit always a little ashamed That I didn’t make better use of the time we had. Looking back at these final years And the weeks leading up to the end There is some peace to temper the mourning. I guess it’s solace in knowing the day I’d always secretly feared Has finally come. The weight of keeping a secret from oneself is a burden hard to bear. So here I lift my silence And like so many before Admit that I am mortal and that, recently, my youth slipped, silently, Out the back door While I slept, cluelessly. I’ll try to be accepting. To make the best despite knowing The best is not yet to come. I’ve suffered a loss. A death in the family. A dream held so dearly Has faded in the face of forever. And from this day forward I’ll be just another aging man With only the dreams, dearly held, Of memories that might have been.