We trade our youth for wisdom,
Our smooth skin for knowledge,
Bright-eyed optimism for knowing what's to come.
A natural exchange,
Immortal youth is only a fantasy,
A dream often yearned for, but never reached.
A sacrifice no one can escape,
The human condition demands it.
Submit, or die.
And yet,
There is whimsy wrinkled in smile lines,
Child-like wonder held in liver-spotted hands,
And joyu...