dtherese3

Swimming

In college swim class we shared the pool

with a class of elderly women.

I would look at the wrinkled faces and sagging skin

and imagine each bobbing lady as she once was:

Young and vibrant, fresh and lovely.

My friend would laugh at my imaginings.

But now at middle age,

with my own son off to college,

I see that the young person you were

disappears long before the wrinkles set in,

becoming a peculiar stranger.

And you begin to realize

a far more valuable and lasting beauty

as you continue,

treading in the wake.