Was there really any point to it all?
What useful purpose have I served
While living out my bleak and lonely life?

Searching for answers, many men
Gaze in to the dying embers of a fire
And measure their life's worth therein.
So too have I been gazing -
Into the dying embers of my life
And taking the measure of my worth.

There will be no statue to celebrate my life.
No awards to mark some great achievement.
No learnèd books to argue and explain
A great contribution made to help mankind.

Like an early evening shadow, dancing
Across the choppy waters of the bay,
I too have crept silently through life
Un-noticed, un-seen and un-remarked.

And just as that shadow will vanish
Un-remembered with the setting sun,
So to will my life fade from view
And leave no passing mark upon the earth.

19/3/2017