On Growing Old

 

Aging, they say, is not for sissies.

Neither is it for those who are bent on focusing on their decline,

On pondering the end and the big question

Of what, if anything, comes at the end, and

Neither is it for those who delight in the good supper

Or the bright May sunrise,

Or the well sculpted flower.

 

Aging is best done by oaks and cedars and Johnson grass.

Unlike the aging humans with their burdens of consciousness,

The oak, cedar, and the grass

Partake of a mystery greater, deeper than consciousness,

That goes beyond neurons and questions. 

 

Perhaps herein lies the start of wisdom:
Consciousness is the culprit.

 

--May 13, 2013