Last of the Firsts

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Time waits for no one, but governs them all, steady at their side.
A friend, a foe, a rhythm, a familiar foreign stride.
It takes us were we would not go, not here, not now,
And then beyond it.
A first, a last, another trying round.
And then beyond it.

Who ever comprehends its passing, how children grow when we're away.
Who ever comprehends our passing, how we were them but couldn't stay.
Dust in graves, in jars, on winds, in waters,
And then beyond it
Memorials, legacies, eulogies to be remembered,
And then beyond it.

The last of the firsts will go. A year will carry it away.
So quickly, the future that we feared becomes yesterday.
Pain yields to peace. Despair to hope. In part to in full,
And then beyond it.
Time is the hand that holds the flesh. Eternity holds the soul,
And then beyond it.