When Youth is Gone

I have some questions from my younger friends

That I hesitate to mention
But hiding the true facts of old age
Was surely not my intention!

When silver first appears in your hair

You might think it is quite stunning
A little highlighting near your brow

Is considered quite becoming!

The slower pace that you now use
Still gets you where you’re going
Although it is much more difficult
To walk outdoors when it is snowing.

Your eyesight once so sharp and fine
That you could read billboards across the state
Today demand things classified in “focals”

And big print you now appreciate!

Your frame once so thin and svelte
Admired by those who  knew you
Now seems to have become a bit rotund
And is a slight embarrassment to you.

Gravity has its own punishment for us
As we advance in years and maturity
That you might wrinkle here and there
I can advise with surety.

But even with the trials of age
The wrinkles and the graying
That wonderful memories of a life well loved
Is the main thing that I’m saying!
Thena Cullen Smith