i am not young anymore

i am not young anymore
this is not the sting so much
as is not realizing i was young
when i was young!

all the things they said were true–
how fast it goes
how beautiful it is
how the miracles stroll by
while you are making spaghetti and picking up magnetic tiles

memories get clogged, of course, in the passing of time
the minutiae of survival
fades into the background
as years expand between you

now i am not blind
but now i am not young anymore
(and it is over)

i will tell the new moms about this

and they will smile politely (as i did)
and grimace inside (as i did)
as their toddler yanks their hair
and knees them in the stomach
trying to cut free so they can run into the road

and one day they will not be young anymore
and they will not be blind

and the world will keep going round.