Poetry – Wining to the End

Wining to the End

Last night I sat alone with my bottle of wine

And sipped the tiniest sip of the very last drops.

I swirled the red liquid around the bottom

And saw my reflection in the bottle.

I have loved the most beautiful women

Loved until nothing else mattered;

Wondered at the moon,

Fallen through the stars,

Travelled to the worlds of new ideas,

And seen the best that men can do.

I have tried to make sense of galaxies and cathedrals,

Listened to men whose eyes glinted with passion,

And experienced the greatest lusts.

I have read the most considered words

And wrestled with majestic ideas,

Found causes and ideals I would die for,

And seen the worst of results

From men whose eyes were hard and selfish

Yet glowed with excitement.

I have considered heaven

And imagined hell.

Discovered the greatest minds

And the most depraved,

Drunk myself unconscious,

Opened my mind to wonder,

Art, poems and stories,

Written, daubed and waffled.

I have despaired at both fun

And empty lives,

And sought meaning and fulfillment.

I finally discovered that fulfillment in family, friends and sharing

And the caress of a thousand kind words.

I have travelled and marveled

And taken so many sips and gulps

And now I am at peace savoring these

Last few –

For only in them is the flavour fully distilled.

Opher 24.3.01

Wining to the End

It is good to reach an age when you can look back over a life and feel the wonder. There are many things that you might have done differently but then you would not have been where you are.

Experience gives a person perspective and appreciation.

I have been fortunate to have lived through such times as these, times of peace, freedom and plenty, and to have found so much love and fulfillment.

There are not many periods of history, or places in the world, that have offered such sanctuary, liberty and lack of mind control. England is a gem. It has surely enabled me to blossom.

There are still many mountains I have not climbed and many more I hope to scale. I expect the views to be magnificent.

I hope my grandchildren will experience a world full of challenge and plenty of opportunity, without the fetters that can narrow a young mind.

An imprisoned mind cannot savour the taste of such heady liquor as life brings. A mind needs to be free. Life is a perfectly matured wine, full of body and bursting with flavour, to be sipped and fully appreciated.

Wining to the End

Last night I sat alone with my bottle of wine

And sipped the tiniest sip of the very last drops.

I swirled the red liquid around the bottom

And saw my reflection in the bottle.

I have loved the most beautiful women

Loved until nothing else mattered;

Wondered at the moon,

Fallen through the stars,

Travelled to the worlds of new ideas,

And seen the best that men can do.

I have tried to make sense of galaxies and cathedrals,

Listened to men whose eyes glinted with passion,

And experienced the greatest lusts.

I have read the most considered words

And wrestled with majestic ideas,

Found causes and ideals I would die for,

And seen the worst of results

From men whose eyes were hard and selfish

Yet glowed with excitement.

I have considered heaven

And imagined hell.

Discovered the greatest minds

And the most depraved,

Drunk myself unconscious,

Opened my mind to wonder,

Art, poems and stories,

Written, daubed and waffled.

I have despaired at both fun

And empty lives,

And sought meaning and fulfillment.

I finally discovered that fulfillment in family, friends and sharing

And the caress of a thousand kind words.

I have travelled and marveled

And taken so many sips and gulps

And now I am at peace savoring these

Last few –

For only in them is the flavour fully distilled.

Opher 24.3.01