Age Poem by Lynn W. Petty

To Gloria Hoffman, my sister, on her birthday

It is not gray hair that is indicative of age
But, rather, the age of heart, nor, does age ossify the body.
What is to be feared is the ossification of mind.
I ask you, would an older, thinking person wish to be younger?
Age is not the decaying of mind, body and soul,
It is the bursting from that old husk, allowing the blooming
Of a new and fresh approach to those wonderful years
To come. It is a gift, for the alternative, at this time,
Is not acceptable.
At our age one should think of the life span ahead of him,
Not the span of life behind him. Think of gray hair as the soft
Light of the moon silvering over the evening of life;
And, never refer to, or think of age, when it is wiser
To ignore it.