Thrity-four Years

The older I get
the more I learn -
the more
I understand...

Time builds
Time removes
It's funny...
time can do both -
a great multi-tasker, that time -

Thirty-four years

The wind of those years
carving into my face;
removing color;
adding wisdom into my head
and stupidity into my soul

Thirty-four years

The same is the number
of rooms inside my heart -
vacant...empty...and
constantly growing in volume

Thirty-four years

A master in living
A student in life
Blind to snakes that wait for my approach
Deaf to alarms meant to warn me

Thirty-four years

My hair is grey and much more thin
than the seventeen years before
My eyes have become just as narrow as my
dearly departed Sire
My body is harder than that child
who entered manhood much too damn early
and my spirit, though foolish at times,
is bursting through my flesh

Thirty-four years...

...and it almost ended before it could begin

I am DeadMan...