The Day After I Turned 71 Poem by Daniel Brick
The Day After I Turned 71
I can't hold on to things securely.
They drop to the floor at unexpected
moments. I am walking to the door
that leads to another room, and
I'm holding the book I want to read
in that adjacent room. I want things
to go as planned. But the book slips
out of my hand and lands on the floor.
It's pretty much out of reach. What
should I do? This is the moment when
experience breaks into possibilities.
I keep walking, although I'm empty-
handed. I cross the threshold and
open the door: I have arrived at my goal,
but bereft of my purpose. In this second room
I had hoped to find something wondrous.
No book lay on the floor, no readers maintained
silence in their concentration...
Backwards I go to that point of possibilities,
reversing my threshold crossing. It's simple enough:
I bend over and grasp the book I thought was done.
The book and I seek oneness, then we are one, or
so it seems. And seeming itself is a kind of reality.
Happy belated birthday, Daniel. Age is a cruel joke. It brings experience, wisdom and knowledge. It also brings deterioration of physicality. At 60, I am stronger than most 20 year old people, but only half as strong as I was at 30. What's worse is I have memory lapses as well. Here's to a graceful next few decades.
Love this one too! Each age threshold brings its own doubts and questions, it's true.
my first thoughts, daniel, are of things related to aging. but then the last sentence resonates, seeming itself is a kind of reality. it is indeed. but in this time of fake news and alternative facts we need to remember that the seeming has to be placed against objective reality, as best we can discern it. years ago it struck me that in scripture significant weight is put on eyewitness testimony—primary sources speaking historically. appreciating your metacognition, glen
Great depth. A book dropping is not as simple as it seems. When things begin to slip out of our hands, we have two choices, either to move on without them or exert ourselves to hold them again. With aging, we might lose grip on things physically but mentally we are much stronger, at par with a book that contains wisdom. To lend such depth to an apparently trivial incident of routine life, you deserve applause. Amazing!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/18/2024 11:59:04 PM # 1.0.0.1119
There are so many wonderful things about aging such as more time, wisdom and travel. When your body fails you it is incredibly difficult to enjoy the simple things. Happy Birthday Daniel.