Seven Ages

Somewhere 'twixt Birth and Death

Billy S
said
man knows
seven stages
'tween
birth
and
death.

I've
passed
some of those,
I'm
no longer
a mewling,
puking
infant
an'
I ain't
a
satcheled
schoolboy
any more.

The
sighing
ballad singing
lover
is
somewhere
back there
in my past

I say I'm
somewhere
in the middle
not
at the beginning
not
to the ending.

Perhaps
there is
still
something
of the soldier
in me
still looking
still seeking

Though
my belly's
somewhat
spherical,
I've not
reached
that stage of
round
bellied
justice
with wise saws
and modern instances.

My shank
ain't yet shrunk.
nor does my voice
pipe falsetto
no, not yet,
and,
I have not returned
to the condition of childhood,
where, I’d be
as Willie said,
"sans teeth,
sans eyes,
sans taste,
sans
everything."

So, here I am,
somewhere
between
birth and death,
neither
brave
nor
fearful;
still looking for
beauty
and
still avoiding
ugliness.