Will I Lose Myself?

Will I slowly wither like a leaf
That falls upon the earth?
Once void of all its Autumn hues,
It loses all its worth.

Will my strength and vigor for this life
Just one day start to wane?
Will all these lines and wrinkles guise
My once familiar face?

Will I feel no longer needed
By my family and my friends?
Will that thrill of feeling deep in love,
In time come to an end?

Will I lose my sense of purpose,
My reason for each day?
Will my mind grow dull and cluttered
Till I somehow lose my way?

Will I outlive all my loved ones
And find myself alone?
Will I lose my independence,
My possessions and my home?

Will all my fondest memories
Escape my aging grasp?
And will I drift so far away
I never make it back?

Will I be that old forgotten soul
That no one comes to see?
Kept in the hands of strangers,
A shell of who I used to be.

I pray I'm spared such cruelty,
For if I am to live.
I don't want to be a burden
When I still have much to give.

I want to treasure every moment,
Every love my heart embraced.
I need to know each pain I felt,
Each tragedy I faced.

So if someday I disappear
Before I leave this life,
I beg you to reach out to me
And hold on with all your might.

For despite how far away I go,
I need the world to care.
For somewhere in that bewilderment,
I still linger there.