The Splash

It’s not so much the number of the days and years we live

But what we did or do with them; this makes us who we are

It’s not so much what we’ve attained as the measure we give

That leaves us satisfied or wishing on yon childhood’s star

It’s not so much our have-and-hold as learning to let go

And in the meantime counting Mercy’s blessings one by one

Then while the smile and sigh of moment melts like summer snow

We learn it’s not so much a touch of Time but grace alone

This age old way of growing old is not just about years

We pass this way but once and none of us knows where it ends

So, while we marvel at how readily time disappears

It’s up to us to make the most of each new day it sends

The here-and-now we hold is all we have, like weightless gold

Its ladder to far yonder blue scatters footholds like ash

While we climb up and up and join the ranks of growing old

We learn, it’s not so much the number as it is the splash

© Janet Martin

Last night at a  Ladies Spring Tea at church we, all at various stages of getting older were treated to a wonderful sense of humor by a dear seen-some-HARD-times lady a little further along in life than most of us present, and it reminded me to ‘revel in the splash’ not the number!

Today hubby adds another rung to the ladder of years….Happy 52^nd, Jim.