Winds of Time
By John Ganshaw
Winds of time have picked up speed
limbs and leaves move frantically,
holding on with all their might.
The strength of time will eventually win.
One's tenacity will never be a match.
All will break and be bound to leave someday.
The trunk is more flexible in younger
years, becoming less flexible with age and time.
limbs no longer reach and touch the ground
Age gathers through the years, and around the
roots, it goes unseen. Years will show on the
bark, crack, and soon it will bleed.
All that was muscle and firm now only sags.
people will look but no longer wish to touch, much
like a younger man with you or me
Memories fade and will soon be lost in time.
to be awake and alert soon will cease.
Falls and breaks, trust me, you will see.
To be repaired just can’t be done.
Pass each day till an endless sleep comes
Will there be a gathering to watch the fires burn?
All have passed, and in death, all alone
A final wind calls with a tremendous blow,
and carries you to an eternal home.
John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Leadership Development from New York University. After a long career in banking, John retired to Cambodia, where he lived for five years. John saw the worst in expats and how colonization can destroy a people and a country. John began writing in 2023 and has published over 90 poems and essays, most recently in The Vault, The Well Street Journal, Men Matters, The Marbled Sigh, and Wayfarer. John writes in hopes that perhaps in some small way his words can bring truth, justice, and change to this fucked up world.