The Old Poet

The Old Poet To strain, to gain, to understand, Creating scenarios that will explain, Deepening thinking that taxes the brain, And brings the mood down low. What does the poet mean by his phrase? So must one claw through maze and haze Of flowers of words to poignant tears, And years begin to speak of dread. So few Ah Hahs! decline the thinking mind, Until that dreaded term “low esteem” invades, Then age’s sweet gift of simplicity seeps into the heart, And the sun lightens the old poet’s world again.