Let Me Grow Old

Some people wish for romance
On a gable, Lombard scale
Or for money that can buy
The richest dreams
But I don't wish for seas to sail
Or mountaintops to climb
I close my eyes at night
And wish for time

Let me grow old, let me grow wise
Let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me spin stories as I hold
Court in my chair
Let me knit yards and yards of yesterdays
To gather round my knees
And woven in the pattern is a message
"I was there"

Some people thirst for knowledge
Or a framed advanced degree
That can trumpet "I'm important
Can't you tell?"
But I don't wish for accolades
Or insight so sublime
I close my eyes at night
And wish for time

Let me grow old, let me grow wise
Let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me quilt memories, every one a vibrant square
Each one a friend I've known and cherished
Or a love I've won or lost
And embroidered in the blanket is a message
"I was there"

Before you paint a painting
You need a surface clean
Before you write a book
You need a page
Before your picture dances
On the canvas that is life
You must paint the picture
With the brush of age

And some crave admiration
Acknowledgement of wit
They revel in the turning of a phrase
And though the poet in me
Yearns to find that perfect rhyme
I close my eyes at night
And wish for time

Let me grow old, let me grow wise
Let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me hold children as they clutch my wintry hair
Let me knit yards and yards of yesterdays
So when the last comes round
I'll take the yards and yards of yesterdays
And lay them on the ground
And in some faraway tomorrow
When my cast off scarf is found
Unwind it and you'll find there is a message
"I was there"