Reflection #40 Forever Young

Some of my earlier steps
were not guided by design
but taken because the road
suddenly bent.

Following where circumstances pointed,
doing what I could,
but often bracing for impact
even when water seemed calm.

There were waves that lifted me high,
and I savored the rise,
even while bracing myself
for what could become an inevitable fall.

I’ve known the bottom—
its heaviness, its silence—
and the effort it’d take
to surface again.

I am grateful now
for waters now gentler.
Moving through days
willing to float.

And, resting at night knowing
that I filled my hours with meaning
lived the day well spent.
keeping me forever young.

—by Patricia D. Brown