Читать книгу Alabaster - Nancy Pietsch - Страница 10

In Passing

It seems everything is mixed up

We’re not growing old, after all

Look at the common threads with our babies

They have blankets, we have a shawl

When we are toddlers, we measure our growth

At adulthood, we stop growing tall

Then along comes osteoporosis

Causing our spines to grow again small

Remember when you took your first step?

We fell many times learning how

Well, we’re back in that same situation

But our bones break easier now

When babies, our mothers would feed us

We’d wear a bib to cover our clothes

Now we’re back in that similar position, our

Shaking hands drop food while we doze

Babies are not born with teeth

They eat pablem until their teeth come in

Our teeth come out to soak in a glass

Again eating pablem seems we just can’t win

When toddlers are learning to talk, it’s difficult

They get frustrated when not understood

We, on the other hand, lose patience

You see, our memories are not very good.

For children, potty training isn’t easy

They wear diapers, they’ve not learned control

Our bladders and bowels have weakened

We’ve lost the muscles to hold in the flow

When babies are taking their first steps

A walker steadies them on their feet

We too have gone back to this practice

But now our walkers are also a seat

Like toddlers that sleep in daybeds

Like babies who sleep in cribs

Our beds are equipt with railings

So we don’t roll out and break any ribs

Do you see, we are growing younger

Soon we’ll be right back at the start

Soon it will be increasingly difficult

To tell us…from babies…apart!