I do not fear the end of things I know,

In this paradise of fools,

Nor mourn the passing of the hours as day progresses into new day.

Nowhere exists a force that will send me scuttling backwards.

Oh, they will stare and they will sigh –

Roll their heads from eye to eye –

And they will say "See what you have let go past?".

Staring coldly, they shake their heads in shame

For though I look like them I do no bow and smile to time

As it passes by and passes by on its solitary way.

I do not stand as the sand runs dry,

Watching the dregs of life slip slowly down.

I will smirk behind their eyes as they turn from me one last time

(for I know a secret few others do).

The rollers and shakers, with a tisk on their tongues

Will die ( and well, so will I), but their faces will be marked with fear,

Fear of everything they have pretended not to know.

But I know a secret and though I die,

The mermaids sing for me, I hear their cry,

I shall not walk upon the shore in morning.

I shall not savor dried fruits,

For I know a secret(maybe you do to):

There is only darkness behind what we choose to see.

I fear,

I fear no thing,

There is no time to be afraid,

To peer over the side of the ship and wait.

I must step off or back, not hover in the darkness.

Take one step forward, drag a stick through the sand

And say "Here I am, here I go, for I know what you should know."

They will stare blankly at me, shake their heads

Then return to the darkness of their beds,

Like animals in warm lairs.

I alone will step through the snow,

Go forward without a final glance.

They are in the past and perhaps – I forget –

They never existed at all.