(The Stages of Life (German: Die Lebensstufen): oil painting, 1835 by the German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich.)- wikipedia

Dreams, hopes, aspirations

A mind full of expectations

Looking at the world starry-eyed

The world was your oyster, for you to decide

On the road unknown you could embark

You had the will, you had the spark

You were naive to the world’s crooked way

Never heeded what people had to say

You felt like a reservoir of energy vast

You assumed enthusiasm would forever last………..

*

Voices around you clamored for attention

The chatter got louder, causing distraction

Draining the sea of energy from you

Seeping unnoticed as the years flew

Unrealized dreams just withered away

Your existence grew mundane day after day

You narrowed your path to the tried and tested

You embraced the ennui you once had detested

And one day, your gray hair made you realize

You were now middle-aged in the world’s eyes

Boring, predictable but considered respectable

You now had a lifestyle that was fairly stable.

*

As you descend towards life’s twilight

Weakened in limbs, with failing eyesight

You hear faint sounds of death at your door

The initial fear gives way to something more

You do not have anything left to lose

Once more, you feel liberated to choose

To rekindle your passion, your dreams reignite

Through all these years you have earned the right

To be oblivious to what others opine

You are free once again, your life to design

Just like your youth, the difference being one-

You live life each day, and then you are done

You have no aspirations for the future

Only the present that you nourish and nurture.