Growing Old on the Way To Dying
By Don Iannone

I watch her--
sitting quietly in her front porch swing.
Her breathing is labored,
and her hands tremble,
as they hold onto what life remains.
By my account,
the old woman is pushing ninety.
She looks remarkably peaceful.
Her thinning hair, snowy white,
blows in the breeze.
The old woman savors each moment--
as though each may be her last.
I think...she is living in the moment.
Makes me wonder...am I?

On the way to dying,
we grow old,
and we give back large parts of ourselves
to the well from whence we came.
It's the same well for all of us--
that we come from and return to.
Getting old isn't easy,
especially as our bodies slow
and our minds forget
at times where they are.
Then again, where can our minds be
but right here in the now?
On the way to dying,
we grow old,
and then,
we grow young all over again.