Stairway of Disillusionment
(three secrets about aging)

Aging is a stairway of disillusionment
I'm not yet ready to climb

My mother's face replaces mine in the mirror,
In my left eye, my father's squint appears
When I clear my throat
'tis their voices I hear.

I may carry my parents inside of me
but I've found the secret they didn't seek
I've set down the liar mirror
and simply refuse to peek

A compass, my body now points towards China,
Aims deeper each day
Whatever happened to perky breasts?
Gone Chinese Sweet and Sour, of course,
to join all the rest.

Cremation, my plan
No wide-eyed teary staring
at my overdressed corpse
My ashes will live
in the wide sprawling hills
and from this scattering,
wildflowers will blanket the fields

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