The long winding hallway
Led me to my fate
The unexpected hell filled days

Watching death takes it's toll
Pills and sleep
Gasping for air just to breathe

The tinted windows
The ash filled urn
My mother gone
All pages turned

Four years passed
A void never to be filled
Spoken freely
Yet, unable to rebuild

You are so afraid of getting old
having wrinkles, having flaws,
weakening muscles, fading eyesight,
clouding memory, so like the
lady witches on fairy tales
you wish to be forever young.

But never did you realised
the beauty of old age.

You were far too busy for simply
being present and savouring the moment.
You were young and life rushed by you.
Your mind was so busy, constantly racing
and striving for success, where
every moment seemed filled with goals,
of places to go and people to see.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now you’re old, having all the things
you’re so afraid of, but is more present
and ever mindful, finding pleasure
in the smallest things:

Such a rewarding experience
is putting on your pajamas at night
and the ease and relaxation that accompanied
this simple act of changing clothes.

You wake up with complete awareness
of the aches and pains, yet happy
that you are alive and have lived
a full life that your physical body now
reminds you of.

You start your day by the simple task
of brushing your teeth, and you realize,
how lucky you are to have those teeth and
you’re excited to take care of them,
they have value to you that you neglected
when you were young.

You see now how your work is
of so much benefit to so many.
To support the ones you love, and
to help others who are in need, is a
tremendous blessing.
You realise how wonderful
that you’re able to work.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, do your feet hurt? Yes,
but you’re grateful you can walk.
Do your neck and shoulders ache?
Sure, but you’re thankful
you can sit upright and feed yourself.
Do you often feel back pain?
Certainly, but it’s still very strong
and can carry a great deal.

And for all of these things,
all of these aches and pains,
all the wrinkles, all the imperfections
you see all the joy and happiness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tomorrow,
you will be older still,
and this body will further decay.
But rather than struggle against this,
welcome your own impermanence.
It’s a wonderful life we all share,
and it’s a blessing to grow old!


© Diana (2:43 am, May 7, 2014)

A year to wait
But not one of those stagnant,
thick-netted *******.
The rushed one,
like the cafe girl
who knows he's coming so orders ahead
This is the real rush, the real lush rush -
Your potted and steaming sewer
4 am blacktop
photographic backdrop
waiting-to-do-your-*****-work rush, and it knows you will want that.
You can't trick the city, but you can trick time
Trick it till it thinks. The girl at the cafe thinks too.
Think it through, she thinks.
I like the way her blue (not her skirt's blue), the blue she made, waves in the wind like it's the last thing swaying, that she can call home. She had a home once,
But this isn't about the rushed girl in blue, is it?
No. This, this thing we have here is about the rush, my friend!
that dreaded coiled-stomach rush that only happens at the last second, of the last minute
We can trick thoughtful time, never can we hide from the finality of our deciding moment!!
Girl blue has made her choice, too soon perhaps -
But rot yourself down to your last second,
feel the swell in your gut,
and choose.
You still have time.