Already You Are Old

Already you are old, and I am too.
Let’s join old age, embrace the time we’ve found,
and make of winter’s shiver warmer ground
and milder spring, as much as we can do.

A man is never old who does not know
he is—he shifts his course at the year’s new seams,
weaves new thread into his cloth and seems
a snake who sheds his skin to feel his glow.

Remove this crust of impudence disguised.
The laws of nature cannot be revised,
nor wrinkles contradict the mirror’s glare,

nor falling breasts rise up when they are bare.
Time will tear the mask off when you’re drawn,
and the black crow I was will be a swan.

—Terese Coe

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The USCCB Should Reject Federal Funds

Kevin D. Roberts

On Monday, Pope Francis sent a letter to the bishops of the United States. Criticizing the Trump…

Eliminating DEI from Higher Education

Mark Bauerlein

President Trump’s executive order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” puts colleges and universities on notice. If…

Biden Is the New Francis

Matthew Schmitz

Early in 2016, articles began to appear noting similarities between Pope Francis and Donald Trump. Trump’s promise…