I wish to be the
old man in the room
with smiling eyes
that still glisten
with a kind of
quiet curiosity,
excited by, seemingly,
the most minute
of things,
I want to be
an old man who’s
not always avoided
life’s storms
but one who’s
weathered them
well enough
to remain whole,
The old man
who's kept both
his promises
and his virtue
in spite of
the temptations
of this tempestuous
world,
I hope I’m
an old man
who has tread lightly,
loved deeply,
and lived just
long enough
to see the
seeds he's planted
stretch out strongly
and freely towards
the sun,
If I am lucky,
these slippery
hours will,
soon enough,
reveal exactly
the kind of
old man I shall be.
~Eric Vance Walton~