The Old Woman

Sometimes I see the old woman I will be

she watches me with eyes

full of wisdom and

a gracious wit, and

twinkling there, I see

reflections of my youth

(She has not lost that precious piece!)

She has a patience I have as yet

been too restless to harness and

all she ever says to me is

"I used to be smooth

before I had lived;

now every line on my face tells

my story,

every wrinkle evidence

of

deeper truths still unexamined"

so I'd better start paying attention

if I would be so presumptuous as to learn anything

from her,

this old woman

I have not yet earned the right to

inhabit.

10-02-08