1
Sleep is not kind to age.
Evening and morning
mean little to me.
Awake when awake;
asleep when asleep.
As Janis Joplin said,
it's all the same
******* day, man

     2
Sleep is for the young;
now I grab a few hours
here and there when I can.
I have come to know that time
really is of the essence.
        
     3
Older now,
inevitably less
everyday.
Sweet Muse,
I do not fear death,
but dread the thought
we may never meet
and that if we do
I will not
be enough for you.

      4
You are the wise woman,
the alchemist of my soul.
No longer a poet
I have become your poem.
Incant your spell
and I come to life.
    
       5
Old men live on
medicine and memory
telling each other
the same stories
over and over,
enjoying them
each time
while the young
yawn.

      6
Sons grow tall and strong,
take up their lives
and leave yours behind.
This is an old story.
It will be told many times.

      7
The girl I loved
at 17 is 68 now
and lives in Greenwich
contentedly retired.
I have seen her picture.
She is still beautiful.
Why wouldn't she be?

      8
Deep in our aged hearts,
bucking all the odds,
we know that nothing
is ever really lost.

     9
There is a
whole world
out there;
in here, too.

     10
When you find her,
love her;
the universe will
show you the way.

~ mce