Aging As Ascent Poem by Glen Kappy
Aging As Ascent
from 'Dreams and Visions'
The larger view I get
in climbing towards the summit
has diminished early shames—
the lens of love
the only one that matters.
Beauty now—beauty everywhere! —
makes youth—with all its drama—
just one kind—
and one I gladly leave behind.
There's a hidden life inside
that's moving mostly
as does geologic time
but moving surely—
as the plates in crust unseen—
which makes me
feel and know
that dawn with light and color
always always follows.
If aging can be viewed as an ascent, aging will surely turn into a blessing! Though the agility of youth is left behind, the larger view one gets while climbing the summit is something more than rewarding! What a fantastic closing to the poem.... the thought that beauty and light follows even in old age! One's perspective makes so much of a difference to life! Top marks
thank you, valsa. yes, perspective is all, or i'll be a bit more cautious, almost all. - like how light can make a huge difference in how we view a scene (i'm partial to the light at dawn and sunset- i love the long shadows.) -glen
In just one week -that's 6 1/4 days from now - I turn 7-0 (along with my twin sister to soften the blow!) , and this is the POEM I need to make that transition fruitful, positive, an open door (Not a closed door) . The first stanza affirms two positives of aging: The value of THE LARGER VIEW speaks for itself, but its the diminishing of EARLY SHAMES which releases the heart from a stranglehold of things already forgiven. In the next you identify a faculty which comes through time and experiences no doubt; THE LENS OF LOVE. This must be a discriminating faculty that sharpens our vision of things that really matter from vanity possessions.LOVE itself is not problem - it's loving the wrong thing and ignoring the right thing, right? And that's why we can let youth and its wonders and follies fade from view, we see what is vitally real and true now. This to me is your hardest and best argument for AGING AS ASCENT! ! Your poem closes with images of a new sense of Beauty and an awareness of a new range of experience symbolized by DAWNS yet to come. I've turned your lyric poem by paraphrase into a prosaic argument but I'll need both the poetic language and the prose summary on June 10 to make that a day I can honestly say means AGING AS A-S-C-E-N-T. And I'll share your poem with my sister. dAWNS yet to come.
daniel, i'm so glad you appreciate this poem. i noticed your birthday is june 10. besides the fact we both have taught english to high schoolers, i have a june birthday- the 30th- and i have an identical twin brother. you may have noticed, though, i'll still have a year before i reach septuagenarian status. in advance, happy 70th! it's true what the old timers told us, you're only as old as you feel. -glen
Indeed, I love the perspective of this subject. It grasps the truth and communicates it deftly. There is much wisdom here, and certainly much to be pondered in this brief but stirring vision.
thank you, seamus. years ago in a classroom i met a seventy-five year old man who came to teach students about the wise use of credit. in talking with him he said, getting old ain't for sissies. at this point in my life i know what he meant, but i still wouldn't want to go back. there are positives to fogeyhood. -glen
Looks like I didn't read this one before. It's an interesting perspective, a positive one on a reality that is usually viewed negatively. Oh for that hidden life to be revealed, and oh for the dawn! Nicely written, Glen.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/8/2024 5:01:48 AM # 1.0.0.1119
There is hidden life in side that is moving slowly as geological time....beautiful poem on aging. Our biological clock ticks inside. Life takes different meaning as we understand it. Liked the poem very much.
Good. I'm glad you did. Thank you, Savita, for reading the poems I suggested. One of the things I like most about PH is being able to have conversation around things that matter using poetry. Be well! -Glen