Tick, tock, tick…

Another year’s come and gone as so many have before it

Time heeds nothing but her own ticking pace

But still I plead for her to slow down

Just for a second

Let this old age rest for a little while longer

Before the new one takes its place

Tick, tock, tick…

Each second washes over me as a wave drenching the shore line

But all I want is to be dry

My bones are so tired already

How many more years do they have to carry me?

Tick, tock, tick…

As her seconds followed her minutes

And her hours turned to days

And her days to months

Her months to years

Her years to decades

Her decades to centuries

Time has never once wavered

Though I try to catch her ear and cry for her to pause in her relentless marching,

She remains on her steady path, unbothered

Tick, tock, tick…

Why must she trek on like this?

Why must aging be beautiful in anything but my own skin?

The earth seems to love her seasons as they pass,

Why must I hate mine?

Tick, tock, tick…

I miss when my smiles came easy

When my tears didn’t cut so deep and my lungs were new

When the world was fresh and I had yet to find my place within it

Tick, tock, tick…

But now I lay here

Settled down in my place found years ago

Counting each new wrinkle as I wind down for my final sleep at this stale age

I wish I could make my world new again

But as time continues to march forward

I have no choice but to match her pace.

Tick, tock, tick..

- j. e. anderson