The Game

“Answer me one thing”, I asked the old man that day…
“What scares you the most?”
“Is it life, or is it death that you fear?”

“Is it knowing that some day, you will die?”
“Or is it knowing that one day you won’t be alive?”

For, the two things that I asked him,
well, they both aren’t the same…
One has a life ending, the other, 
just the end of life’s game…

The answer that I received, anticipate, I did not…

“Young lad, I’ve lived this life without a single regret.”
“How many other souls can really say that?”
“As for the game, I’ve grown very tired,
it’s gone on for too long,
and I’m looking to retire.”

“I’ve faced many pitches, and taken many a swing.”
“There were times that I swung for the fences,
and others when I was only happy to be part of the team.”
“Sometimes you shine like the stars,
while others, they don’t know who you are.”

“So, you ask me, which is it that I fear most?”
“I’m just thrilled to have been part of this world,
a world so beautiful,
a world that has been the most gracious of hosts.”