the privilege

Photo by Claus H. Godbersen on Unsplash

the privilege

it’s easy to lament—  
stiffness, aching, less 
energy, slower mind
but the privilege
of growing old 
outweighs decline

I choose that view

fifty years ago,
when my conditions 
grew hard, life
revealed a clearing—
small close-by joys
lilt of birdsong,
plant nudging 
through pavement,
a child’s chuckle, old
song on the radio