Unending

Upon the ground i did espy the sight,
A pool of water, intrigue, and delight.
Bending over to see whither it ran
I saw inside a small boy grown to man.
A wind did strike the pool, it moved down
Five sidewalks; I hurried apace, a frown
Upon my face, for eager I was to
See what the future held for him I knew
In bygone years, the realms of fantasy
That children do espouse while they are free.
Yet as I stalked this picture on the ground
It vanished from sight in the heat of day;
And looking up I saw the man, and found
The vision manifesting midnight ray.
All dark did the sun go, mimsy the air,
And I found myself suppressing chills; fair
Weather now did seek to escape my thought,
As the vision had escaped, was uncaught.
And standing in the moonshine was a friend,
But he was changed, and did my calm heart rend.
No longer did I see him present, but
In a whirling dream. I could not know what
Was that I did deem to see in that hour,
But I knew it was a vision of power.
Dared I to go forward? To shake his hand?
Could I understand his path? or demand
He return to the pool from which he came?
I found the boy I knew, no longer lame
In thought, speech, or intelligence, no fall
Did I detect in his sight, and his pall
Was one of color, of youth, of a smile;
No longer unsure, not so infantile.
Rather unsure of what I was to do
He made the first move, and had I withdrew
From the scene I know not what would have been;
Having seen the future, what I have seen,
Seems to me more strange than what man may glean
Had he gleaned it from the depths of his dream.
With a twinkle in his eyes that spoke days,
Volumes of understanding found in bays
By the sandy sea, he stretched forth his arm,
And took my hand in his; to my alarm
I had not a word to say to this act,
Could not renew my friendship, my old pact.
And even so the vision did then fade;
His smile faded like the deepening glade.
The pool of water did form once more then,
And I saw again the boy in a fen.
And even as the sun did shine one me
With a bright array of colors, a sea
Of endless colors, I did shiver so;
For having seen what may become of time,
I was stifled, and could not complete the rhyme.
Seeing there in the deep chasm of thought
Made visible by God, by God's hand caught,
I recognized my part in his transformation,
And it sent me deep into contemplation.
For by my absence he did grow strong,
No longer did he pine or tag along.
Thus out of my deep revere did I stumble,
And turning about I did stutter and fumble.
For he was there, smiling still, this boy,
No more than a child still, holding his toy.
And holding it up he said to me, his friend,
Will you help me to fix what I cannot mend?
Then taking the toy in my hands I sighed,
For in the past it would have been by pride
That I'd have told him to deal with himself
The problems he had, such unending wealth
Did I place in a man who could fix things
Without the help of another, who sings
Out in his work self sufficiency;
Little did I know then. And now I do see.
So as the years did pass I walked with him
And steered his path wherever he did whim;
By my aid he overcame such usual trials
That do often beset young infantile's.
Then, one day, I saw a pool of water,
That I thought to myself I should not bother,
But strangely enough as I walked away,
I saw the boy, now grown to man and stopped.
I smiled at him, he smiled back. He hopped
The pool of water and wrung my hand good,
As I had hoped in the past that he would.
And in that embrace we did part well worn,
As a ship that's run it's course, not forlorn
But happy in that it's done with travel;
No more mysteries to unravel.
Yet as I walked away I heard a gasp!
The man was looking into that same pool
That I did long ago, and a strange clasp
Was upon his face as he followed it;
To where it led him I haven't a wit.

                      Unending, (c) Luke Bennette, Jully 2012