A gasp of wonder
A cry of delight
A curious nature
Examines a world of light
A cry for help
A shudder of rage
A whimper of fear
From living on this stage
Misdirection
On a dead-end road
Learning to live
With carrying the load
A sigh of relief
A glow of pride
Simple astonishment
As we continue this ride
A slump of fatigue
Head hung in shame
Ignoring regrets
That don’t affect the game
Broken body
And a breaking mind
About to cross over
And leave everything behind
I wrote the second stanza on Jan. 10, just before midnight. At the time, I was trying to describe
the poetry from my youth and young adulthood. Three days later, I realized it could describe the
attitudes of my youth — regardless of poetry. So I wrote stanzas for each stage of life,
from which the title gets its letters: Childhood, Teen years, Young adulthood, Adulthood, Old age,
and Dying.