An Empty Hourglass

A life is measured not in time

But in the bounds of love

Held in the hands of cherished kin

And in the hearts thereof.

I gave my heart to someone dear,

Spent foolish time in prayer

For him to feel the same as me

And naught for men elsewhere.

Thinking it would never come,

There finally came a time,

Far after mine had long-since passed;

His soul reached out to mine

And on the day it finally did,

Words fell on empty ears,

Just as mine once fell on his

Through worn, frustrated tears.

I was quick to condemnation.

For his poise would never show

Exactly how he felt for me.

My mind may never know.

Left with little choice about

The way I should proceed,

I forced his hand to make a choice

To see if he’d choose me.

I turned an empty hourglass,

Expecting a cascade

Of endless sand to wind the clock

And return to happy days.

I want for nothing - else forever.

And still my mind insists:

“Eternity can spare a minute

At the prospect of a chance

For his worth is every wasted second

Spent at my expense.”

I find no comfort in new arms

Each pair feels cold and lone

For there comes no further contest

To the hands I’ve come to know.

I made a choice: I let him go.

My love, he’ll take with him.

And there’ll never be another us

For as long as I shall live.

There's just one me, a single him,

No other can compare

To the sacred time we spent alone

And the feelings wakened there.

To me, he was the sunrise.

I? A step along his way

To forget about tomorrow

But to savor for today.

My forever lies in him,

Who is my common thread.

And so, I'll chase forever 'till

He brings me home again.

-written by Dallas Eason

Sandy Kay shot by Jenna Carney.