Shrinking World
Seductive is seclusion’s condensed surroundings.
How sensitive one’s awareness
In this self-imposed solitude.
What a roar the dripping faucet expresses.
How bright the reflection of early light on my coffee cup.
The keyboard of my voice is comforting,
Like the remembered touches of my youth.
Anxious is the scent of aloneness,
Where gradual body atrophy
Reminds one of yesterday’s grandparents.
With eyes open,
One sees the walled-in surroundings of today
Mingle with the open wilderness of yesterday.
How humbling is this inescapable conundrum of time,
With it’s often slow recall of sadness,
And its rush of joy to be alive.
One’s world may get smaller in aging,
But, oh how an experienced life can keep one searching for fresh moments
As smaller pleasures deliver smiles of newly discovered happiness.
So goes the maintaining of purpose
In this gradual erosion of mortality.