A Poem of my Aging

 

I feel I’ve lived

a hundred lifetimes

have cried a billion or more tears

I feel I’ve traveled

millions of miles

climbed thousands of mountains

and crawled through a myriad

of twisted mazes in underground caverns

on my hands and knees

 

I feel I’ve knelt

at the feet of God

walked with Jesus

over burning sands

meditated with Buddha

and attended rites

honoring Osiris and Cleopatra

 

I swam rivers

dove in oceans

floated on clouds

high above the earth

and laid in cool green grasses

on a hot summer day

  

I’ve heard thousands of words

listened to tales of wisdom

stories of success and of woe

and the fake promises

of false-hearted men

 

Everything I know

Everything I thought I knew

Everything I envisioned

dissipates like early morning fog

warmed by a dull sun

 

Heart-wise these days, though,

I feel little warmth

Things ethereal I’ve touched

but never fully grasped

have slid through cold fingers

 

                                                           I now rest in this humble body

as it ages and decays

mind tired but still active

as I watch events of the world

Glory witnessed

has been shrouded

with fear, dissension, hatred

I cower behind my moat

wondering who will

come for me first.