The lushness of summer seems
forever long in the early days of May.
The autumn seems unlikely and an
eternity away.
In my verdant days, I could never,
myself, begin to conceive
That my own summer would have its
fall and blow away the leaves.
My youthful adornments: unextinguished energy and plump, glowing skin,
Blue-jewelled dewy eyes and thick
brown hair - a hint of red within.
I’d chained together daisies, in
a ring to make a crown
Then commanded clouds from the
soft grass where I had chosen to lie down.
An old woman watched me. I guessed her tired, lonely and frail.
She’d known the world in black
and white, and knew the knights of tales.
She watched as I admired my
mirror and its radiant youthfulness.
When I caught her eye, I saw her
smile, jealousy I’d guessed.
She spoke to me and so I stopped
and she warned me of the world
But me, an adventuress, knew how
life would unfurl.
I’d travel the globe and be
admired for my talents and my looks,
And be rewarded for my singing and
how well I’d write my books.
I would marry a rich and handsome
man – although assured of my own wealth -
And produce some loving children
and enjoy abundant health.
I knew that I would die some day
but far in the future, hazed;
Quietly, in my sleep, at home, a
gentle smile upon my face.
It seemed that luck had favoured me,
and therefore I was sure
I did not need the maxims of the
self-styled wise of yore.
She’d had her days; in the
distant and trivial past.
These days were mine, and soon
the future would be firm within my grasp.
She faded away completely at some
point, I don’t know when,
But through my life, she’d cross
my mind every now and then.
Faded - the hair a flat
white. Wiry and dead.
And many decades since a daisy
crown adorned that head.
Gravity’s battle with flesh won;
the frame bent and thinned.
Behind the dull grey eyes, showing
a spirit somewhat dimmed.
The skin around them, lined and
fine, delicate, like crepe -
As round all the features of this
face were gently draped.
These accents show a life of
smiles, of tears and worries, defined.
But faded into obscurity, no-one
reads between these lines.
As I watch my face in my mirror
now, that arrogant youth’s somewhere
Her outer shell replaced by the
old woman I'm seeing here.
Those eyes saw some parts of the
world, and settled with a man,
But too late to bear him children
– and those dreams never went as planned.
I watched a youthful girl today,
unaware of what she had
In terms of time and beauty, and
in a way I felt quite sad.
I thought I’d tell her not to
waste opportunity or brain
But she just laughed it off as if
this old woman was insane.
