Old And Wise

[poliphilo]

OLD AND WISE                              

                                   

To turn into an ancestor

While still alive, to become a shrine

Of wormy wood and joss-stick ash:

It could happen any time now. Your grip

Loosens and the pitons go

And you slither down into the blue-green gulf

Where all your dreams become posthumous.

Comments

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Yes.

I was with my son and daughter-in-law for two weeks, and with Kate also (she lives nearby right now in Richard's old house), and felt sometimes silly and too-young, trying so hard to be young for them, not be a frail old grandmother, glad my hair's still brown, hoping they didn't get bored with an old woman in the house, sitting on the playroom floor (stiffly) for hours while Isaac and Nathaniel made Lego rocket ships and armies.

Mostly I succeeded in not letting go, and never told them about my arthritis in my left leg or how stiff I was after sitting on the floor...I can't stand people fussing over me or seeing me with "loosened grip"=

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's a family wedding coming up at the end of the week. Ailz has been helping to make the cake and I've got a commission to take lots and lots of photos. I'm very much aware that our perceived role in the scheme of things is to be the elderly, eccentric aunt and uncle.

And why not?