The Land of Kings

A sultry sunset melting slowly into the horizon, birds shadowed against the brilliance serenely fly by, displaying accentuated movements,
Elongated shadows begin emerging, the suns dying rays caressing every object in turn, nothing remains untouched, as the light separates into uneven fragments,
A dry and desolate look, as perceived by the inexperienced eye, cruel and unforgiving on the surface yet secretly sustaining all without bias or exclusion,
A land challenging and inhospitable by day, enveloping everything within its icy embrace by night, while the silence echoes, reinforcing the seclusion,
I am this dry, wrinkled landscape, withered by age and experience, eroded by time, hardened and inhospitable to strangers, reserving beauty for only those familiar,
The uneducated and inexperienced eye, glimpses all that is prominent, disregarding the so called unimportant, providing illogical and unreasonable censure,
A simple man, a poor man, alone these days I sit and consider my lifelong achievement,
Those I have loved and lost, the joy their smile brought to my life and the feeling of desertion I experienced while encased in my bereavement,
I wonder, what is still to come? The meaning of my existence: that which defines me and sets me apart from all other men, a perpetual intellectual torment,
No I was not royal, rich or famous, I wrote no books or scaled no inaccessible mountain, I befriended no notable men or women, I was not handsome then and am even less so in this very moment,
Death will be welcomed by this simple, lonely man and to my grave I take the memory of the land I walked in years gone by, a cruel yet magnificent creation, it’s memories known only to the beholder,
My cynicism I leave behind to join my loved ones behind deaths door, a long deserved rest from the trials of this life I crave, no longer will I watch my face day by day grow solemnly older,
Death to me an excitement I have not felt in an age, the unknown awaits exploration and understanding, a simple journey from this world to the next and somewhere the promise of better things,
Material items have no meaning and I cannot take them on my journey but I keep safe the knowledge that I have walked the unforgettable, a land so picturesque, so exquisite it should be reserved for royalty. - I have walked The Land of Kings....

A simple and seemingly meaningless experience can change your life. We are only as rich as our experiences.
J. Sheridan
July 2011