A Discourse on Aging with a Little Help from Psalm 90
Two times my Jesus year
is two-thirds a devil year—66
and month 6 for that unholy trinity,
though I have crested the peak
and I am sliding on over to yet another year
that at 33 I could never have imagined,
but here I am combatting all the same
deadlies now as then—envy, gluttony,
an occasional foray into pride. My sins
are those of too much, not too little.
Proactive sins. Not sloth,
though I stretch out my legs
on this porch swing, coffee at hand,
contemplating the best of the days,
the labor and sorrow,
how they fly,
as the psalmist said.
A tale that is told.
I am aiming myself toward gratitude
for all the ways this aging body
carries me through
the length of my days.
8 thoughts on "A Discourse on Aging with a Little Help from Psalm 90"
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Love: “Two times my Jesus year/is two-thirds a devil year—66”
Amen: “…gratitude/for all the ways this aging body/carries me through/the length of my days.
I feel this one in my old bones, Pauletta.
Btw we’re the same age.
I love “My sins/are those of too much, not too little.”
<3 "Not sloth,
though I stretch out my legs
on this porch swing,"
I love poems like this.
I’m 77 and the doubles seem
to slide by as easily as counting
by fives.
Gratitude is a place you aim for–indeed!
Beautiful! After confession comes thanksgiving – but unlike the psalmists, you’re not asking for anything here – a welcome change!
This was such a comfort to read. Thank you!