I Will Not Be a Yeats

Yeats and I share the same sentiment: Ageing is absurd. But Yeats could not cope with it; He called it a caricature. But I not only know but also feel— Old is gold! I won’t be a Yeats! Yeats thought of life as a tragedy And continued to bemoan it. But I would, after Buddha and Kierkegaard, Think of life as absurd, Which I should learn to cope with—by living, I won’t be a Yeats! God’s gift to me is this awareness: I am a participant observer; And can influence my own life And change for the better; And, in the process, may influence others. And that makes me happy. I won’t be a Yeats! *** An 'honorable mention' in the Poetry Contest, "My Secret to Happiness," sponsored by Line Gauthier, October 18, 2017.