Life first brought me to this place as a boy
To be suffused with its wonder
And enthralled by its joy
Then again as a young man
To learn how to live
How to graciously take and happily give
And has returned me once more
To learn how to die
Time having lost its elasticity
In the slipstream of by and by.
I have seen double rainbows
Cradled fresh energies in my arms
To quietly quell occasional alarms
I have felt great joy in my heart
Change to overwhelming sadness
Within the clench of a ventricle
To a point of near madness.
I have seen infinite sunshine
And days thick as cotton
Had moments of love
Never to be forgotten.
I have been buoyed by friends
And betrayed by family
Have sailed broad oceans
With my closest companion
I’ve traveled safely afar with strangers at hand
And once played drums in a rock ’n roll band.
I’ve captured moments of time
Heard distant bells chime
Have drunk lots of rum
With tonic and lime.
Above all, I have been
Blessed by a history
That has set my life
Here in West Tisbury.

— Allen M. Look