Do not say
 

Don't say
"what's the use
living into deep old age"
losing one by one
the endearing attributes
you claim as yours,
clear eyes
clear skin
clear head
 

Think of a life
as a construct in time
a four dimensional
sculpture
defined
by the dreaming baby
on one side
and the dreaming old man
on the other
both holding up
the massive central body
of adult life.
As each night
you dissolve in dreamland
into adventurous
flamboyant parts
that retune
the self of each day,
the baby and the old man
forward and backward through time
hum the constant tone
that keeps the adult
sane and sound,
dancing joyfully
down the road.
 

Thus it is
that
often
in very small infants
peers out the dreaming face
of a very old man.