I Did Not Wish To Grow Younger..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

even by heart
i do not wish
to grow younger

this mellow reality
of aging, this wisdom
slowly creeping
like waves in my head

in the mirror i often
say, "how beautiful
are these wrinkles? "

how snowy had my hair
become? i look cool and
composed
and on my head is
this crown of age,
of authority and
respect,

of understanding and
patience, of tolerance
and acceptance.

a few of us shall
grow old
as most of them
had died young.....