8) Turning 50

the morning is cool, misty
like my thoughts as i rise
to begin another day

there is comfort, a familiarity
to a routine which i fully embrace,
it seems to be my nature

the fires rage less fiercely now
although i still fear the moments
when they erupt
from the savage rivers
deep within my soul

at one time
i would have not believed
that i could have lived
to reach this age
but youth is never noted
for dealing with the pangs of mortality

neither is fifty

the trick is to pretend
that where you are in life
is where you have always been,
perhaps that is the illusion
which keeps us sane