When You've Already Said Goodbye

This is a poem I have written for my Grandpa Baird (Ralph McGilvery Baird). I hope it may say some of what he may be thinking right now:

If life is a pathway to eternity,
I have been traveling the last mile for the last few years.
It feels as though my feet are treading on the smoothest ground,
yet I feel as though the spring in my step is gone.
I used to walk along this path without any assistance,
and at times I carried others across the dips and hills in their pathways.
However, now I take frequent stops to catch my breath,
and I seem to be covering no distance.

The world goes on and buzzes around me
like bees buzzing in a hive.
You have no reason stay amid the stress
when you've already said goodbye.

The companions I have met along the way
have shaped me into who I am.
I have served in a time of war
and have seen the ugliness that hate can bring.
But, I have also gained strength from the lessons learned
on my own defending my countries freedoms.
I have taught the youth of this great land
and hoped and prayed they will exceed our grasp.

The world keeps spinning from day to day
like the records June and I would play.
You have no reason to stop and dance
When you've already said goodbye.

This mortal shell is weak,
yet I know clearer than ever the truths of this great life.
My spirit is strong within this old body,
and I would yell the thoughts of my heart if the breath was in me.
I have fought a good fight as Paul would say;
I have given my all to His cause.
My family has grown to numbers I could have never imagined;
Each tender heart aches for me and I wish that I could tell them.

I walked this pathway of life to live with all of you for eternity.
Death has no sting for me through Christ our Lord.
You have no reason to fear the next great step
when you've already said goodbye.