When all my labored breaths pause and cease,

Every last leaf has quivered and fallen,

My gray eyes seem lackluster and sunken,

And my shriveled skin is numb to the tingling breeze,

Will my soul experience endless peace?

Once my body withers will I be forgotten?

As I wallow ‘midst questions uncertain,

My restive mind, Oh Lord! How do I appease?

The journey beyond has to be traveled by everyone,

And to your racking minds it may seem an unsolvable mystery,

Life’s a lease–live with gratitude until the day you depart, 

Your soul would illume with the right paths chosen,

Your gilded stories would be etched in the pages of history,

Hark! Your legacy will exist as an inseparable part.

***

Poetry Style : Petrarchan Sonnet

Though a typical petrarchan sonnet requires the poem to adhere to iambs,  the prompt required only the rhymes to be followed. So the above poem does not follow the typical rules. It was first published here.