When I was young, I was content with being happy;
Now I’m happy with being content.
I replaced the hands of the clock
With my own hands, made grave demands,
But now I stand and find no room
To speak or run amuck.

I’m not sure which is worse.
I’m not sure which is a brighter verse,
But, listen, I glisten nevertheless.

As I grew old, I grew famished,
Starving myself for the answers,
Feasting on air-ridden questions,
Whistling with breath I never owned.
But you wait too long and the hunger subsides.
I’m afraid I’ve forgotten what the air tasted like.

Now I’m at that middle ground—no aging,
Just gaining years as you’re watching the wind
Make more of an impact than you ever will.
But loving it still
For it teaches you to be humble,
Its careless mumble
Sorting leaves into piles.
Ever wonder how it decides
Where each leaf destines to lie? It’s so precise.

The humility cracks me open, but preserves me where it needs to.
So I capture not my strength, but my vulnerability
For strength remains as openness flees
And I break through its glass container
And its fragile interior melts at the heat of the sun,
But I know I have won
For this is just what I needed;
I needed to watch it melt.

Yes,
I broke through its glass container
Just to see it melt before me
And, furthermore, to watch
Everybody see.
They needed to watch it melt.

And I’m glad that we did
For I realized I’d been using
My age as an excuse
Since the day I entered earth,
Since the ripeness of my youth.

My first word was “goodbye”;
My last will be “hello.”
The new seeds I envision
Won’t plant, but watch them grow.