A Better Way

I once counted days slipping away
as though they were a memorial
to faithfulness,  a peace offering to

sorrow, paying homage to grief.  I
once counted every silent second, every
memory gathered, every tear shed, as

though they too could immortalize that
singular moment when life changed.  I
had shut out the sun and stars, ignored

the moon, and wished the restless wind
away, but life did not give up on me.  It
slowly allowed my heart to heal as

it gentled my soul, opening those doors
and windows I had kept closed and curtained.
It allowed me to learn to breathe again.

And time? Time waited patiently outside my
open window, never demanding my attention
or commanding acquiescence to its existence. It

believed in me, its faith never floundering that
one day I would notice its passing and feel the
need to walk with it once more.  I still stumble in

my journeys but I continue on, and sometimes I
long to return to that empty shell of non-existence,
but only for a fleeting moment.  Life has shown me

a better way and time has given me the chance
to find it. To each I am so very grateful for their
faith in me and their forgiving patience.