Ageing comes as inevitably

as the sun rising

and the moon shining its

face on a clear night.

It greys my hair

and slows my walk

and sometimes fills

me with regret that

I didn’t do more

with the younger years.

But what has gone

has gone is a fact of time

that sweeps away all pretence

and makes me aware of the

losses of advancing years.

Still, even if it is inevitable

and even if it sweeps in

like the high tide of woe,

I have a life to live,

and by God I will live it

for all its worth among

the creaking bones

and the parts that

don’t work as well as

they used to work.

13/2/2017