Flags

I won’t be here to see the flags come down

They fall on the day of departure

They stay low for a time until the gathered come to say farewell

I will still exist 

I will still breathe 

I will still think 

I will still remember 

I just won’t be here

I will be going through what everyone will face one day

My mortal body will no longer function as before 

I will have to face a new future

One chapter is finished, and my story now moves in a new direction

Many will drive-by and see the flags at half-mast and wonder who it is this time

The village has marked each death in this way for many years 

It connects life with death

Will I be able to see the flags from where I am going?

Will I have eyes that can see through time and space?

Will I know what is going on in my former community?

I do not know but I trust the one who does

I will leave behind those who understand my certainty

I will leave behind others who are not sure

I have lived my life knowing that this day would one day take place 

I have tried to be prepared

In some ways I have looked forward to this day

I will see more clearly

Understand more deeply 

Appreciate with greater clarity

And all the questions that I have longed to be answered will no longer seem important