Elegant Bones

In the end
we will be stripped down
to our elegant bones,
bare and naked as we entered,
without the burden of possessions or status.
Others will follow,
they will come and take our place
and the circles of life will continue
toward their infinite centers...
The ticking of the clocks on the walls
will not stop because we depart,
the changing of the seasons will remain faithful.
Outside the window the blue birds will return each spring
to fledge their progeny from the trees
we planted with the children when they were young.
Perhaps they will build tree houses
for their offspring in the strong branches that grew from our efforts,
and tell them how they buried sticks of faith
in the cold clean earth with the help of their Grandparents aging hands
in the fall
when they were small.