An Endless Journey Through Time

BY STEFAN PAO

The Years Cannot Escape Carving,

Time sweeps away the dust,

As oceans rise and lands erode,

A silver spindle spins and thrusts,

Through endless tides, it weaves and glides.

The traveler steps in silent tread,

Watching the earth’s changes spread.

The sun and moon round once again,

Another year has passed and flown.

Day and night transform and wane,

And yet another day is gone.

The traveler walks in flashing light,

Beholding centuries shining bright.

The traveler wonders how time so flees,

It slips away with such subtle ease.

They’ve seen willows sway in the breeze,

Seen the lotus bloom in ponds serene,

Heard the sycamores whisper in freeze,

But never the snow’s pure, silent gleam.

They’ve watched the sun rise in the east,

Seen it blaze at noon, then slowly set,

But never the stars of midnight’s feast,

Glowing in a velvet silhouette.

The traveler ponders the rocky road,

How joy and loss in each step showed.

Through storms and gales, they’ve traveled far,

Through joy and grief, like passing jars.

At last their feet, once foreign, stand,

On soil they thought a distant land.

The traveler beams with heartfelt cheer,

Yet feels a loss, sharp and unclear.

They delve into the quiet pain,

Moved by thoughts so deep, so plain.

They say life’s a journey long,

A voyage through the heart’s own song.

As this poem nears its end,

How will its final verses bend?

The traveler wonders,

And wonders,

Drifting into dreams once more…

At dawn, soft light caresses skin,

The traveler wakes with peaceful grin.

Companions now have gone ahead,

To chase their skies with paths unsaid.

Only embers of the fire remain,

Some bottles, a journal filled with names—

Telling the tales of the night’s refrain.