I’ve known your face a million ways
I’ve watched it all these years
I’ve seen reflected in your gaze
Your longings, hopes, and fears

Cover to cover, I’ve read its every page

Your smile, my friend of olden days
My mentors were your tears
Your gentle touch, your warm embrace,
Have brought you and me here

Act by act, as characters on stage

Now trees shed leaves, the days are gray
Some things may leave while others stay
Earth to earth, dust to dust
We shall sink into Earth’s crust

Breath by breath, together we engage
Each one more humble, each one a sage