The Last Bell

The Last Bell

Signaling for the ever so energetic first,

The hatched who long yearned the golden rays,

The sun which quenches their thirst

And liberates those who dreamed and prayed

Of an escape below into the worriless oasis,

The last bell chimes.

Opening the eyes of the sheltered second,

The nestlings presented with the vast desert hills

To which their cogs have turned and reckoned

What shall lie ahead with their coming quills,

But their time is far from expiring, so fret not

The last bell rings.

Reminding the now prudently prepared third,

The fledged who see the world beyond the sand:

Kingdoms of fable, destinations once unheard,

Infinite paths in the palm of their plumed hands

Soon a choice shall be made, certain or not, still

The last bell strikes.

And finally to the fourth, the grown, and the last,

The matured who spread their wings with intent,

Memories of the nest they hold and leave in the past

As they fly to the distant land their life will be spent

With a void created and carried that may not be filled,

The last bell tolls.

But the story of the nest continues,

For even in end, there is beginning

And in the wake of the leaving,

New eggs are laid, the cycle begins anew

Awaiting the chime, ring, strike, and toll

Of the last bell.