What Of The First?

So,
in the end,
life becomes
a question of death?

In the end,
is dying what really matters?

Do twilight redemption and healing
overshadow brokenness and hurt
and is it really that easy
to overlook a lifetime of pain?

The last will be first and
the first will be last.

The worker hired at the end of the day
will receive the same wages as the one hired
when the day began.

The prodigal child will be
welcomed home.

But what of the first?
What of the good one who stayed?
What of the hours endured in the heat of the sun,
trying to do the right thing while
living in the midst of heartache?

What of that life of memories
left playing in the dark,
wondering aimless through grief
as celebration tramples its soul?

And what of life
if all that really matters
in the end
is death and dying?