There were points along so many journeys
When I leapt to clear an obstacle
Before I even thought it through—
Trusting in my legs and muscle memory
Keen eye and strong heart
Were my allies, and rarely ever let me down
And even when I slipped or tumbled
I walked away with little harm

A friend of mine, I’ll call him John
Has traveled the world over
To places you and I have never been
Lean and light of foot at seventy five
He’s shunned retirement
On his way to work one day
In a flash he saw his moment—or so it seemed
And so he dashed into a gap
Amidst two surging streams of traffic—
The story made the evening news

I hope he never saw the car that struck him
Or felt the blow that crushed his frailing body
I pray the lights went out like THAT
And up until that sudden moment
His mind was at peace, thinking of the day that lay before him
As his trotted, unknowing, to his fate
In the end we’re all betrayed
If not by blooming tumor or bursting artery
Then by a clouded eye or buckled knee—
And hurling mass of steel—
Every day the odds against us grow
As each muscle stiffens, and each synapse slows—
When my time comes what will I feel
And of my fate what will I know?