sure, the aching joints, wrinkles,
excess skin, excess fat, heart burn, acid reflux,
type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fading vision, diminishing hearing
all make aging harder
but the most heartbreaking thing
is when people start to smile less,
speak in professional tones all the time,
when the old familiarity starts
to fade away, and you wonder
how it got there
was it neglect? was it life
merely taking its due for the
years of unbridled reverie?
i hope that we keep the smiles
in our voices, and the lightness
i don’t know how to keep it any more
than anyone; they may say that nothing good
ever stays, but i ask
can’t more good
always come along?
narinda heng 