Finality rings forth in every peal--
Stubborn in the wind go ages past
Laced with hope and beauty, full and real;
Ringing, winging, breathing now their last.
Comes a lull between the exhaled breath
Ripe with such potential and such fear.
Inhale peace and joy or inhale death:
The future gives no indication here.
In between the breaths a heart still beats.
Its rhythm steady, certain. Still no wait
Is long enough to hinder or defeat
A heart so full of hope that won't abate.
Life becomes the ringing of a bell;
Exhale past regrets and breathe farewell.
postscript
Final day of NaPo! Success, six years in a row. Booyah! I won't say this was my most successful year. Not super proud of my thirty poems. I am glad I accomplished the Crown of Sonnets though, since I've wanted to for awhile. Cheers to all who read, and everyone else who wrote this year.