Until We Meet Again

I see now that try as we may to dig our feet in the soil
As the roots of a tree do
And build a life for ourselves,
Life never provides us with assurances.
It cannot promise us we’ll live freely
Without the forceful grip of heartbreak, death, loss and pain
Seizing us and chipping away at the foundation which we have tirelessly built.
And Father Time,
Though he may seem as true as the night is dark and the day is light,
Never promises to withhold the tides of time
From washing ashore and taking with it our dreams for a day that has yet to come.
Yet we continue to will ourselves
In believing that we can escape the illusory nature of our very existence
Bind ourselves to the Earth
In such a way that Mother Nature herself is powerless.
And yet it is here I find myself
Bound to a feeling that is as tangible as it is intangible,
All the while wondering how we can have the knowledge to discern reality from the imaginary
And still choose to place our hearts in the hands of another.
Because although I’m told there is no rationality to be found in the depths of emotion,
I swear this single emotion courses through my veins as does my blood
And beats with as much force as a single heartbeat.
It even seems as though the universe itself personifies the ebb and flow of my emotions
And joins me in my celebration
As well as my mourning.
As I close my eyes and try to envision how I will feel without you,
I imagine it feels as a bird does without the wind
Rippling through its feathers
As it soars across the limitless horizon,
Or as a dwindling stream awaiting the replenishment of rain.
So, why is it that we are so forthcoming with our hearts?
That we would risk our sanity and emotional well-being
To love, knowing it will end.
That either time or circumstance will have its way eventually
And you will soon find yourself watching the last particle of sand
As it passes through the hourglass
And collects at your feet.
I suppose it’s because to live in the absence of love is to merely exist
It is in love’s warm embrace  
That we are given the opportunity to understand
What it truly means to be alive.
As you once said,
“The time between now and our next reunion is a blink”-
Until then, know that I will always love you.