When

When.........

When you stand upon the shore
When you look back upon the battles, won and lost
And scan the beaches for those you have
Slaughtered with your words, and stabbed with
Your steely eyes...

When you close those same eyes and see the people you have
Loved, the children you have raised, the work you have
Completed, the hate you have spread, the deeds that make
You both proud and disappointed...

When you come to the final accounting, no longer
Are your generals at your side, no longer are the minions
At your beckon-call, but you alone stand on the beach
That separates the living and the dead....

When you have reached the peacekeeper's table
And bow in hopes that you have just a token, an offering
For all of the damage you have wrought -- 
A token of your good deeds that stand for all time...

When there is no turning back, no do-overs, no chance
To escape the final countdown, the final reckoning --
You realize you are staring at all that represents your Life,
When it dawns on you that there may be nothing else...

When the final trumpet blows there is no more "When",
There is only "Then"...when it will be too late to change your
Destiny, to change your Ways, your thoughts, your Deeds,
Your love, your kindness, your Relationship with G*d....

When will you learn?

When.......