Life And Age Poem by Kenneth Maswabi

We started well together
Enjoying the easy life of childhood
We drank milk at every opportunity
Unconcerned about a balanced diet
And unaffected by our sedentary ways
We found pleasure in sleep

We saw our teeth grow
Gaining our strength
We took our first steps
And found freedom in walking
As we escaped our infancy

We welcomed our toddler years
Learning the ways of the aged
We fell in love with language
Communication was intoxicating
Allowing us to make our own choices
Demanding our rights at every opportunity
We were enchanted by life

Teen age came and was horrible
Taking us on a chemical joyride
We were confused and scared
By the hidden emotions within
Preying on our innocence
Our hormones rebelled
Plastering us with pimples
And blasting us with mixed feelings
We hated our bodies
For betraying our innocent minds

Our early adulthood was fabulous
As we shed the skin of innocence
Transforming into beautiful beings
With succulent bodies and a thousand ideas
Life was a dream come true
Fulfilling our every desire
And betraying our inexperience
We were intoxicated by our explorations

We don’t know when it happened
But we found ourselves in these adult bodies
Pregnant with life experiences
Our body swollen with broken promises
We accumulated extra weight
As we struggled to understand love
We found solace in food

Life goes on, they say
Age was among us
As we hit our forties
Embraced by adulthood
We learnt to be patient
We learnt to accept ourselves
We found communion in our friends

The fifties and sixties came and went
We were anxious about our crumbling bodies
Hiding our fear within our accumulated fortunes
We played golf on a daily basis
Taking breaks only when traveling the world
We re-discovered life and fell in love with it
We started to listen to every advice dished by doctors
And the rest is history…