FAREWELL YOUTH

Youth has gone,

                                      Life nearly done.

                                      Set me on a Viking Pyre.

                                      My life’s light will expire.

                                      My mind lives in youth,

                                      But the mirror sees the truth.

                                      I am thankful for the long road,

                                      And the lightness of my load.

                                      I see the end, Dead End,

                                      That happens to all, relative or friend.

                                      Still, sadness shackles my mind,

                                      Waiting for death, so unkind.

                                      Body slowed where once it glowed.

                                      Dulled mind, where once it shined.

                                      Wrinkled face, absence of grace.

                                      Muscles old, no longer bold.

                                      Yet I leave behind

                                      A daughter, sweet and kind.

                                      So this old man does not mind,

                                      When his life does finally unwind.