Thursday, August 14, 2008

View From Eighteen



VIEW FROM EIGHTEEN
(Written at that age!)

I see the future as a time apart,
A little room
In which I am old,
And all else is old with me.

Yet there is a barrier
Between what is
And what is to come,
When I am old.

There is a door
Into that dusty, plush room.

Tomorrow will be the mirror
Of today.
Yet, inevitably,
I shall find the door
To the stale smell
And the moth-eaten rug.

Yesterday I stood amazed in the garden,
With the dragonflies and the fresh green grass.
When did I come into the house?

Two doors.
One leads back into the sunshine.
The other one leads to the darkened room.
And I cannot turn back.

9 comments:

Mari Meehan said...

I think I'm still in the garden with the dragonflies and the fresh green grass. I know the door is there. I just choose not to enter it.

Indrani said...

Get well soon!

Gigi Ann said...

Hi Rinkly,

Our minds eye is so much different now, than when we were 18. I really wouldn't want to exchange places, I like being 67. I just don't like the fact that I have slowed down a bit. I just can't do the things I did when I was younger. It seems the energy just isn't there anymore.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Everyones comments were so funny yesterday, they made me chuckle;)

Gramma Ann

Anonymous said...

I don't mind my age (will be 74) but I do regret not being able to get down on my hands and knees and then being able to get back up real quick. Now it takes several minutes for me to find something stout enough for me to hang onto while I look for something else to lean on. Getting back up is always thrilling for me. So far I can say, "Thank God, I made it!"

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

I always think that trapped inside my 60 year old body is my 16 year old mind, and that is why I can't do the things I would love to any more. But alas, it is not entirely true ......

I am impressed tht you started writing so young. Wow.

I hope you will be able to stop looking like a pirate soon.

Kat said...

Loved Raji's comments. And it's true.... most of us stay at sweet sixteen even if the frame grows older :))))))

And at 18 years, you've written this. Lovely. Can you please put couple of your pictures in "PLUS" when you were in your teens and a bit later? Would love to see them.

Old Egg said...

What a stunning description of coping with age and looking back to recall youth and looking forward to the unknown darkness. I am really glad you gave the poem a rerun.

Dee Martin said...

boy isn't it true that our outsides and insides don't always match :) Now I understand why you write so well - years of experience! Beautiful that you have that connection with your eighteen year old self :)

Anonymous said...

I liked this very much. And it's true, we do see things differently at different ages (and stages) of our lives. I wouldn't go back, really, although there might be times and spaces I might like to revisit.

Yesterday I stood amazed in the garden,
With the dragonflies and the fresh green grass.
When did I come into the house?


Love the sound and feel of your poetry... at any age :)