issue 24 > light verse > neely

It's those whose flesh fits firm on limber frames
who do not understand, the clock runs down.
My mirror, once so kind, now barely tames
the lines that, though I smile, contain a frown.

No fair! No fair! How did I gain this weight?
How is it that my hair's begun to thin?
And now I have a reason to debate
the merit of a bit of double chin.

On aching knee, I bend to say a prayer:
'O keep this knowledge safe and out of sight.'
My prayer is answered (not without despair);
my eyes have dimmed, I see me in soft light!

Though we accept our lives as grand design,
it doesn't slow the speed of our decline.