Lifetime Foes

Age and youth do not mix
Age is a marriage, a constant companion
Youth is the hot date, the quick fix
Age and youth go to war like opposing foes
Youth strikes without thinking
Age contemplates strategy and battle woes
Youth is spirited, wild and untamed
Age is calculating, reserved, claiming no fame
Youth is swift like the wolf
with lupine grace
Age is slow like the tortoise
moving in a set direction, keeping steady pace
They cannot, will not live forever
Age cares too much, youth is like whatever
Age is benign, youth I beseech
Age knows many things, youth I must teach
It’s a pleasure to try to make them co-exist
Now I’m experiencing them both in betwixt
As I live each day, I’m learning
Age and youth do not mix…

– Thomas D. Payne