I recall the halcyon
Of inviolable youth
When life
Stretched out before us
As an infinite loop of fun
While pain and suffering
Seemed ephemeral
As an all-better kiss
And adulthood perceived
As a condition of denial
That play is anything but
A full-time endeavour
Long since has that glitter faded
Pain and suffering
Joined now as companions
But little desire has this adult
To deny a child
The pleasure of play
Rather play along
Perhaps to live again
The golden lie
Of youth
Gentle lines
In weathered stone
A beauty marked
By time
Patinaed, etched
Distressed
By life and the elements
Beautiful all the more
Oh
The many beauties
Of ageing
A formation
Of pilings
Long past utility
Though still
They throw
A striking pose
Just before
The curtain
Falls
But my heart
Remains strong
My spirit
Undiminished
So I
Unrelenting
Resist time
Live today
Work toward
Tomorrow
In reflections
I see a dragon breathing fire
But just a building
With a light on
Like the child
Imagination still at play
Should the day come
When I see only what’s there
No monsters, no dragons
Which I playfully must slay
How sad I will be
In a world so plain and grey
A little old
A little weary
I can rest here
Be in this peaceful moment
What’s a little rain
A little discomfort
After a life of so many storms
I feel it
Creeping up
From behind
Feel it
Entering me
Affecting me
But in the mirror
The effects of time
Are too subtle
Too slow
The old iron
Rust
Pitted
Flaked
Like me
Still strong
As the years proceed
The man I was
Drifts further
And further
Into the shadows
Until, in the mirror
There is only
The man who is
Pix to Words 