WHERE DID TIME GO?

When did you have the right to
Rob all my resilience,
Trade all my tenacity
And steel my security?

Why did you think that you could
Replace my character with
Ills of your inner demons,

Agonized anxiety
Filled with disturbing demands
Of maddening mindless thoughts,

Or relentless restlessness
Always knocking my night’s door
Waiting for an invite in,

Are you done taking from me
All the minuscule morsels,
To the nondescript big box,
Filled with yesterday’s real me?

Where will I be tomorrow
When you robbed my character
Leaving yesterday a memory,

With each passing year,
I am a mere shadow of my past
I no longer see myself,

When you tried to take over
My pride, my patriotism
And my everything else,

I noticed time never stops
But has a mean habit of
Getting in the way of life
With no rewind option.

I now see the frail aged man
Replacing the proud young man
Who once stood tall and strong.

With each new wrinkle,
An experience is gained
But taking a lifetime to surface.

With every gray hair,
I take a moment to reflect and
Become wiser than the day before.

As I grow older, each day is a gift,
My minutes become shorter as
Each decade lasts a moment less.

In the not so distant past,
I hope to be remembered
For the person I once was.

The one who lead the way,
Leaving traces of a legacy,
Planted in yesterday’s memories
Becoming tomorrow’s pride.