Peering into closing mists

I looked and wondered as I strolled,
Along the narrow, winding road,
This very situation I had spied,
Then I was merry, now I cried.
What was it that had made me see,
that which was not, with utter glee?
Or did I look now through a glass of gloom
at color and gaiety as they ever loomed?

I drifted on forever untiring,
Meeting other travellers, many inspiring
Untold ever to me within, beautiful
feelings; emotions, tender and soulful.
I saw old friends and how such we became.
Worst foes - Alas we were still the same!
I saw gold bars waste into dust,
Hard iron left to painfully rust.

A friend I spied on his own road,
As I journeyed towards my final abode.
We had shared laughs, now he shed me a tear.
Quite enough, I had no further desire
Than my absence to cause one pain,
As we all gaze down misty memory lane.

Memories are hard to leave behind, and so, they are the only treasures we keep. At the end, all that's left is memories, both for us and for others. And after that only memories are left...