For John......
The seasons, they will come, one yielding in its time to the other, on a never-ending course of change, as predictably as the morning comes after the darkest and longest night.
They always do.
No matter how long, how dark, how frightening, how lonely, how precipitous, how endless the night - there comes the morning.
There always does.
If I do nothing, the morning comes.
If I do nothing, the seasons change.
Life begins and life ends.
Even if I do nothing in between.
It is what occurs during that one dark and bleak night that I can alter.
For the morning will come.
It is the path I walk during that season that prepares me for the next, or not.
For the next will come.
It is the journey that is in my hands, for the outcome is known.
The times will come, the die is cast, it is the way of the world now, as it always has been.
Men have gazed upon the faces of their newborn children for centuries and I dare say, had the feelings I had tonight when it was my turn.
Now there is a part of me that will continue in this world when I do not.
But even that is not the most important.
Now I have a chance to alter my journey and show my child all the wonders living has to offer. I would ask no greater legacy than to someday have my child look at her child and choose to make the choices she will make because of what I have taught her.
It is an awesome responsibility.
But even if I do nothing....it is still my responsibility.
Recall the words from a greater man than I. They were shown to me long ago by my father and I knew him not long enough at all. I have found them a comfort and a model by which to live. I keep them close to my heart and re-read them often. They have served me well, and not the least because he showed them to me. When the time comes, I will share them with my daughter and hope that their form will bring the same type of comfort and wisdom to her....even if I am not here to guide her hand.
I may not be, for who can say the way of it. But these words will be.
And I think they will be enough.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11-22:
To everything there is a season
And a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die
A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted
A time to kill and a time to heal
A time to break down and a time to build up
A time to laugh and a time to weep
A time to mourn and a time to dance
A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to get and a time to lose
A time to keep and a time to cast away
A time to rend and a time to sew
A time to keep silence and a time to speak
A time of love and a time to hate
A time of war and a time of peace.
~~~ Sir Antonio Sabatier ~~~
The Duke of Benvenuto in the Lands of Ashford
The Marquis of Pantera, a.k.a., The Black Panther
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within." ~~ Emerson
About Me
- AntonioSabatier
- The Black Knight was not bound to any Lord, but to his own Code of Honour, choosing Justice over personal glory. The Black Knight's Code of Honour: Inside the table's circle, under the sacred sword. A knight must vow to follow the Code that is unending, unending as the table. A ring by honour bound. A knight is sworn to valour. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked. The right can never die, if one man still recalls. The words are not forgot, if one voice speaks them clear. The Code forever shines, if one heart holds it bright.