The sands of time as my brother wrote so many years ago
Ending a short story expressing his grief
Shown to me in the childhood bedroom we shared
Reading it then I thought of an endless expanse
Uncountable grains extending beyond the horizon
Not the contained volume of the hourglass
Keeping the measure of time end over end
Rotate when full and repeat ad infinitum.
As I think that story was about our last hospital visit
As we said good-bye to our mother not knowing
That June evening would be the last time to see her
Leaving an emptiness like time stopped standing still.
Time and distance and movement relate
The way light years measure the universe
A very long time until we travelers get there
While on earth our days fill up as the body slows down.
