A Father's Advice

A sparse stand of grain
is left in life to reap a bounty of wisdom from
The sowers that have come before
have left few fields and the golden heads are fewer yet
But in the last acreage
that memory has visited with an empty stomach
There is a small ripe patch,
which offers the gleaner promise
In applying sickle to straw
it is understood that all is not lost
when going over the edge
the sower advised many years ago
to be fully aware
when going over the edge
for there is no point to hide
when going over the edge
In the end there are two conclusions
in a trip over the edge
Either one finds an ultimate end
to a physical life
or one survives
In both cases, the sower told that
when going over the edge
one must keep their eyes wide open
and enjoy the journey to either end
For when going over the edge
it is an extraordinary experience
and one can either be imprisoned by fear
or completely liberated by it
As gravity soon recalls those
when they go over the edge
it is in that moment that one can revel
and take in the rare occurrence
And if the journey is survived
a tremendous story can later be told
and if the journey meets a final end
those last moments can be spent
in pleasure rather than in pain