Seven By Three Poem by Ananta Madhavan

Shakespeare’s Jacques traced the seven ages of man
From “muling and puking” infancy to “second childishness
And mere oblivion, sans teeth… sans everything”.

Reconsidered now,450 years later, three ages will do:
The babe who finds the thrill of grasping things
With both its hands, and saying ‘this is mine’;
Next the growing child, discovering Life and the World,
Glad to survive another day, prolonging Youth;
And last the quittance, when age adores lost Youth.

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The seven ages of man alludes to William Shakespeare,
'As You Like It', II. vii, the speech that begins
with the famous quote, 'All the world's a stage'.