Wash Away

I scrub and scrub,
trying to erase stains gravelled upon my face.

Age has defined its mark,
solidified a presence in folds and furrows
raked over a once-smooth fabric now heralding me as old.

These seams line my skin,
years claimed my youth
from time I hadn't known had passed 
and disappeared too fast 
like thieves in the night
creeping without warning.

I smell that newness born with babes,
Oh, how it escapes me,
leaving soiled flesh in its wake.

I'm alive,
still breathing,
but it's sighs of old.

Vibrancy and youth permeate my spirit
until the mirror silently highlights worn flesh,
illuminating my face and
haunting me like a ghost
forever lurking around me.

When I peer closer I see more yet less of me,
fragments of remaining years shadow daylight gone,
like dirt disappearing from a child's face in the rain,
innocence turned to the sky,
tongue gathering pearls.

Age is dark. Quiet. Unobtrusive. Unwelcoming.

These common threads live to capture us all.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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Agustin Avatar
May 19, 2024 at 5:23 AM
Thanks for sharing this... exposing your thoughts through your unique poetic style. Meanwhile, I greet you with the love of the Lord, expressed by John 3:16 of the Bible, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Be blessed.
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