He gently went away,
Absconding from the world of men
On that October day.
Later the children all put on
Their costumes for the fest,
All unaware that he was gone—
As ghosts and goblins dressed.
It was the early hours ere
The sun began to shine
He slipped away—nobody there
To beg an anodyne.
How great the distance of a life,
How far a man had come,
Surviving colleague, friend and wife,
Now back to zero sum.
“He lived, he died,” let it be said;
We too await the day
When fortune turns us on our head
And God calls us away.