With closed lips they speak,

They have eyes that no longer see,

They cry, in the dark silence, oh how they cry.

For they stare at me,

 with blank, sad expressions from the papers print

Their lives are chronicled for the living to read.

“Mr. Jerry Payne, left this world today”

is what the short caption under the photo would say.

It may even go on to list the next of kin,

and possibly a few friends of his.

Yet, how can one describe life in 250 words or less?

“dean of men,

a volunteer,

a Sunday school teacher,

and the lions club, man of the year.

Though the words in print are nice,

 and life’s direction they do tell,

Nevertheless, the eyes in the photo, tell it all.

They speak of a life cut short,

 and dreams yet to fulfill.

They cry the tears of a solitary soul.

For alone to this world they came,

And alone they must go.

Hence the hunger in the eyes

of a yet fulfilled soul.

Too many things left unsaid,

And many things in life yet to do.

But to fret and ponder too long on this is vain,

For the time will come when we all

will grace the pages that I now read with disdain.

For someday we too will hear the coachman’s call.

All aboard we will hear him say

as a lonesome whistle blows,

The platform will stand empty.

And we will start the journey home.

Now perhaps,

 someone else will sit and stare

At my face upon that page,

and I wonder…I only wonder,

If they too, will ponder,

My eyes, that no longer see.

 J. Allen Wilson © 2003