Contemplating My Demise

As I lie beneath the sky’s ebony drape,
A rash of stars embedded in velvet,
I imagine all the possible worlds,
That each burning gaseous light might beget.

In that great expanse, can there be others
Who lie beneath their own dark veil of night,
Questioning beginnings and their endings
Fearing the extinguishing of the light?

Is it only man that contemplates death?
Long before death’s arrival it vexes.
Soul and body, spirit and flesh, are one,
Their final separation perplexes.

When I was young, I ran ahead of time
In sweet, exuberant discovery,
Life stretched far ahead and waited for me,
Time was kinder, dealt with me patiently.

Now my steps daily grow slow and measured,
Too late, would I my young self’s haste revise.
Shorter now, is the road laid before me,
And I would not hurry to my demise.