from In The Park

--John Koethe

Eventually, sometime around the middle of your life,

There's a moment when the first imagination begins to wane.

The future that had always seemed so limitless dissolves,

And the dreams that used to seem so real float up and fade.

The years accumulate; but they start to take on a mild,

Human tone beyond imagination, like the sound the heart makes

Pouring into the past its hymns of adoration and regret.

And then gradually the moments quicken into life,

Vibrant with possibility, sovereign, dense, serene;

And then the park is empty and the years are still.