My dear friend,

is failing fast before my eyes.

Yet I am powerless to help

him in his hour of agony.

 

Now, though but a zephyr of©©

that once full gale of zest and fun.

I see deep in his dying eyes

the humor and his love of life.

 

Then why, must someone, such as he

be slowly dragged away from us?

The answer is a mocking laugh

that echoes through the vale of death.

 

A thousand times, a thousand times,

that same dread question passes lips.

As down the path of countless years

man marches to his destiny.

 

 

David Garlick, Victoria, 1987

 

Written for my great friend Brian Shaw