Swan Song

What lyrics will be found within your swan song?A swan song is the melody uttered before the finale and closure of a moment. It is equal parts captivating and heartbreaking, haunting the mind and filling it with remembrance of things that have already been.

Life is filled with both swan songs and the end of those songs. Endings of all sizes come with their melodies and new beginnings replace them with a fresh start. We dance through our lives to the song of moments slipping away while constantly writing new verses that have yet to be sung.

We cannot avoid an ending, just like we cannot avoid a beginning. They come together as an unlikely pair and filter throughout our days, from moment to moment we face them on a variety of scales. Some come in the form of an unnoticeable shift, while others come with life altering after affects. They all come slipping past us and into our history like clouds filtering across the sky towards the horizon. Each one adds to the verses being written about our lives. 

Of course, there is one moment of finality that will contain the entirety of our swan song. It comes unexpectedly and we must all face that moment when it approaches. Yet, our focus cannot be on the fear of the finale of our lives, it must be on the lyrics that fill our song. Each verse and word contains the story of all our beginnings and endings throughout life. Therefore, we must live with each moment that comes, in the beauty of beginnings as well as the beauty of endings. They create our song and we cannot allow ourselves the pain of singing it with regret or remorse. 

Live your life to the fullest extent. Your swan song has yet to be sung and there are many more moments to experience before then. Allow the beginnings and endings to come to you, relish in each one while remembering that this is life, it is filled with beauty and emotions and so many memories yet to be made. Surround yourself with those you love, seek out the experiences that will shape the rest of your life, and remember that each second that is gone is gone forever. 

So I will ask you again, what lyrics will be found within your swan song?

Until Next Time,

Lillian Merritt

"Swan Song"
Self-portrait, October 2020