Until We Meet...

by Maria Isabel Cecilia Pascual
(Philippines)

To the wind---I give you my final breath

For I've stayed in this earth for too long

My mortal self weary and shriveled

But not my heart nor my spirit

The heart does not die

For with it the memory of one true love shall remain.



My eyesight may have dwindled

Or may have faded through the years

But the heart could see far beyond and more

Just like the rusty strings that had been silenced

But could still reverberate at the slightest of touch.



As I stand here unmoved

Like the ancient trees of the past

Hands outstreched like the barren branches

Waiting for the last remaining leaf to fall

To be with the rest of the withered leaves

Lay scattered on the ground---forgotten.



With them, I shall be one

Not sad nor remorseful

For I know I have lived and loved

A life not wasted at all

Until my last breath, my love

Until we meet again...