Old age brings
delusion
Youth the vengeful
liar
Caught between
confusion reigns
As time restokes
the fire

Tweedledee
and Tweedledum
The Brothers Grimm
delight
What doesn’t rob
by light of day
Will steal from you
at night

Wisdom rots on
twisted vines
That choke
the palace walls
Where jesters climb
in ill attempts
To heed the
emperor’s call

Senility
humility
Where folly
once was young
The years have come
the tears have stayed
—tomorrow on the run

(The New Room: August, 2023)