Split Sides

The Last of Your Kind

Brought into this world

Back when this world was still innocent

Before all the bloodshed and carnage and leaps of technology

That are all too familiar today.

You were born into hardships,

Had to work for your daily bread,

And suffered tragedy after tragedy in your life

Both in the home and outside.

You met a white knight

Who turned to be far rotten in his core

And punctuated the life

Of the person who would've done you proud.

You had to live through

The destruction of two world wars

As well as the division and chaos

Of the generations you lived with.

But through it all you held your nerve,

A silent witness to the roots of our existence today.

A hard worker and an optimist

Who found ways to see the better side of life.

I wished I had the time to see you

And thank you for all that you've done.

To hear all the tales and events from you

That are more vivid than any book can depict.

So, in my small way I'm grateful

That we shared time between us

Even in such a brief moment.

Knowing you lived through them all is enough,

But standing there when everyone else had moved on,

That leaves me in curious befuddlement.

Even though we've never met

My heart lies content

To have heard of you and your history.

May you finally have that rest you deserve

For being that tireless sage that lived through it all.

This chapter is dedicated to Emma Morano, the world's oldest woman, born in 1899 in Northern Italy. She has sadly passed on today, and I wrote this after learning of her through the article below. Wherever you are, thank you for sharing your time with us.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39610937