WHEN I CONSIDER HOW MY LIFE IS SPENT
(Inspired by John Milton’s ON HIS BLINDNESS)

When I consider how my life is spent,
I’m warmed by all the blessings I have known.
The good seeds I have sown have flourished.
Family and friends enrich my days.
My soul is fed by music, art and poetry.
I’m welcomed home by one well-spoiled cat,
my rapt attention his only goal.
Soon I shall enter my last decade. Visions
of heaven fade beside this vivid Now.
But fear of clinging on too long persists.
Those final years might be best if left unlived.
May He who gave me life grant two last things—
strength to meet my end with faith, and grace
not simply to endure but to embrace.

Elaine Parker Akin
epa:6/1/2019
Revisions 8/20/19