REFLECTION

Now in our countdown years,
the consequences 

of our actions can be weighed.
The measure of a person’s 

candor is revealed, 

writing one’s own obituary.
It says nothing of wrong turns, 

what might have been.
Nor does it aver to having
lived a road to redemption.
In the best of circumstances
the text would read:
We did no harm, or tried not to. 

We tried to do good.
We had many friends
and spent our days productively. 

We apportioned time
to relax and play.
We loved somebody dearly.