Bj Legros Kelley Poet Free verse

In Their Innocence

Young, young
                                            Often not able
                                             To call to the
                                                Wisdom
                                                 Of the
                                                Old, old
                                           Though the old
                                           Try to convince
                                            That they are 
                                               Not old
                                             The Young
                                        In their innocence
                                           Do not believe

                       
                             I wrote this when I was 'young, young'
                  Actually penned after a conversation with my grandma.
                           Now I am 'older'....35 years have passed.
                      I'm now not exactly old-old, but to whose reality?
                       To my grandkids?  Old.....in their innocence ;)
                        To me??? Well, like the Good Book says 
                     "whereas you do not know what will happen
                  tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor 
                that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."
                       New King James Version James 4:14
              I get what my grandmother was trying to convey to me.
              Life moves by so quickly, the spirit is still quite young.
              The young can not quite know, but the aging certainly do.
              I 'Get it". Why, it seems like 'Just Yesterday' G-ma tried to
                  explain this to me......but no, it's been 35 years!
                This has been interesting to me from the other side of
               the coin. This has been a most interesting journal relic!
               Sorry Grandma! (as she nods emphatically from heaven!)

                            
                              First written in my poetry journal
                                                 1987

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Evelyn Swartz November 4, 2021 at 12:33 PM I love this poem. It is so true that the young do not pay attention to the old and they should. Our Grandmothers knew we absorbed some of their wisdom. Yes, it is different to be on the other side of the coin. Great tribute to your Grandmother. Your friend, Evelyn

Anna Marie Kaianah June 26, 2021 at 3:10 PM What a knowledgeable poem BJ! The young should listen to older people because they have lived their life and gone through so much already and have more wisdom than us youngsters. Though we do need to be careful on whose wisdom or non-wisdom we should take. It is good for us to learn on our own but wisdom from others is very helpful through our life's journey. Bj Legros Kelley June 27, 2021 at 1:37 PM Thank you Anna, I'm glad you like my poem! I had some very wise influences in my life, and was blessed by knowing the ones who had my best interest at heart. I was able to weigh the wisdom in the balance of my dreams which helped me make decisions by seeing facets of situations that I may not have noticed. My grandma's wisdom to me was that life goes by quickly, and before you can catch up in your heart, you find yourself old. Making good decisions as a young person in life's earlier years are a foundation on which you build your life. Thank you for your kind comment and for stopping by Anna! <3

Michelle Faulkner June 24, 2021 at 8:08 PM Hi BJ, very profound, the young don't want to follow the advice of the older and presumably wiser because they need to find their own way, and make their own mistakes, for that is how they become wise~ Bj Legros Kelley June 24, 2021 at 10:11 PM Hi Michelle, I wrote this when I was a young woman nearly 35 years ago. I found it in my journal, and it seemed profound to my heart then, and now as much older 'me' it is rather funny because the shoe is on the other foot so to speak! Aw, life!