We are pilgrims, passing through this life,
On a journey that extends in to eternity.
We must do what we can during the brief time,
That we are granted on this earth.

No one knows when the journey
On this mortal coil will end.
What matters is how we live
During our brief stay.

There is only so much daylight,
In which to do the good that we can.
When darkness descends,
We enter yet another stage.

Death is not the end, but merely the beginning,
Of the next life.
There is no reason to fear dying,
For we are merely passing through.

Death is like a dream state during sleep,
The nature of which will be determined,
By how we live our lives today.
Let us work for the good we can do.

For it matters most what treasures we build,
We cannot take the material things of this life
On the next part of the journey.
So let us build what will last forever.

Copyright 2016 by James R. Campbell. All rights reserved. Reprinted with written permission of the author.

Author Bio

I am James R. Campbell. I am sixty-one years old and liv in Odessa, Texas. I am a poet, essayist, and student of current affairs. I write for
The Consumer Vision Magazine,
Behind our eyes, and
Word Matters!

I have a bachelors in psychology from the Permian Basin branch of the University of Texas. I live with my elderly aunt. I enjoy cooking, reptiles, playing the harmonica, and late sixties psychedelic rock. My poems can be downloaded at
recordinglibrary.org.