Being Okay Poem by Andreas Simic

I wake up with a start, it is back and I know what it is!
Why else would I wake up at 3: 00 a.m. in the morning?
Why else would my heart be racing?
Why else would my pulse be pacing?

It was not there when I went to bed.
It was not there last week or the week before.
It was not there last month or the month prior.
It was not there last year or many a year before that.

Suddenly it has thrust itself upon me.
Without warning it has slowly crept back into my life
and created stress and strife.
Oh what a life!

But I know the signs are there, that it is here.
First my hair is not what it once was,
then I'm out of shape,
and next it's the weight.

From there the spiral continues,
the car I drive is now a wreck,
my home is no longer acceptable,
and my job no longer reputable.

I don't make enough money compared to the neighbors,
and the kids are doing me no favors with their behaviors.
My dear is no longer a dear, and the grass on the other side
is looking so much greener.

But there's one thing for sure and I know
it well, that this is a life cycle that will oft repeat.
So have a seat, as this too will pass to the other colored grass
and life will be once again okay.