Eternity's Barter
by Odin Roark

The breeze of yesterday
Once the repose of a hot afternoon
Might be no more
As nature's breath
Is but for paving the way

For behind every passing
Time provides fresh movement
The next element of life's vortex
Readying tomorrow's experience

Some marvel
For this different swirl
Far from betrayal
Often enhances

Even as for others
Such a coil
Feels serpentine
Preparing a final strike

The imagist perceives
Layered brush strokes
A canvas in progress
One's wheel of fortune
But learning to trust
Nature's ever-turning cog

Earning its respect
Rotation might carry muddy earth
Or waste of any sort
Or perhaps a meadow's dew
Refreshing one's road of experience
Alerting the mind to reality
That promises hold little weight
Yet trust makes weightless any fear

Such is conviction's journey
Allowing change to be caressed
Even though light must give way at times
To resolve's momentary darkness

We need but to remember
Life's tenacity
Is but a clarion for eternity's barter
Reminding our ceaseless awakenings
That the human heart knows only
To caress each new breath
Realizing it might be the last
This time around