My eyes have aged twenty years,
But her face has not changed,
So I search in vain for
All that I saw once.

He is the same age as I was then:
Does he see now what I did then,
Or do the trappings of childhood
Distract him as I heartily wished
They had me?

In our memories, what we had
Will always be the best, even though
Flaws stand out all too readily
In the cold, hard light of adulthood.

I am grateful that my young eyes
Had so much beauty to soak up,
For those were the years in which
I truly learned to see.

I hope that his eyes will look up,
And widen as he begins to see
The glories of this world he will
Inherit, and that he will become
A seeker and defender of
All that is beautiful.

I hope that he learns to enjoy
The feeling of his heart beating
Ever faster as the beauty begins
To overwhelm him.

My eyes have aged twenty years,
But my heart is still young.

08/01/2012

Posted on 08/20/2012
Copyright © 2025 Richard Vince