Caravan

Caravan

The days gone by
leave what they must leave behind---the shadows !
When they take with them everything else
why must they leave behind the pain?
Why do they leave the hours, the moments
and the long interludes
in the empty hands which cannot even hold water?

I have seen the moon come down on earth
with the light of the night in his arms.
My paths were sprinkled with the pearls
that the night in her gladness had graciously cast.
Every destination was within my reach
and every horizon was my goal---the days gone by !

Why does time toss and turn
and with every turn
bring a gift of sorrow or of joy?

Now I am well-aware and sealed
and I do not stay long with either.
I have had too much of the shifting of the sands
and yet all is anchored deep
and whenever life comes back in a tide
I am swayed.

Be still, you wicked companion,
let me match my step with time.
If I linger long
I may find the caravan gone ahead too far.