Waiting

Sharing Stories

October 21, 2023 at 4:36 p.m.

Linda Cufley enjoying the outdoors

...by Linda Cufley

Waiting

I guess I’m old…
not in spirit,
with friends of like age and a library of memories.
Yet, I admit I’m teetering.

Into cliches:

As social salves,
to laugh at the present
or stare down the future,
greasing the path ahead.

In wonderment:

How did it happen
so quickly?
Days into decades
becoming a lifetime.

Unfinished:

Oh, to capture it all
and hold its gifts,
witnessing birth and death
in terror and awe.

Stirrings within:

A highway of emotions
speed into the unknown,
using the map of experience
to navigate.

My now:
A past and present universe
cradles Nature’s etchings,
carved by a miraculous journey,
resonating with the seasons.

Once Winter:

A mere seedling in wait
grounded by nurturing soil,
roots emerging to
everything a possibility.

Into Spring:

A time of awakening,
light illuminating a world of complexity
in colorful displays, its dark shadows
offering pivotal life lessons.

Then Summer:

Sweating with work or worry
the heat of the journey’s challenges fulfill and defeat
Joy riding on the back of determination,
solace on understanding.

Finally Autumn:

Warmed by summer days,
Nature’s palette becomes a harbinger,
its leaves a flame of color,
lingering in a fading farewell
to be scattered in divine purpose.

Today:

I am an Autumn Elder,
a citizen of my time
with deep respect for nature’s bounty,
each species a miracle in this intricate web of life.

So:

I can rage at aging or NOT,
my emotions vacillating on a whim,
the lessening now a constant companion
as full and empty feelings collide.

It’s why:

I can talk bravely and appear confident
while churning inside with a porous contentment,
uncertain of what lies ahead while looking back,
wanting more and waiting.

Linda Cufley is a retired nurse and grateful grandmother who enjoys reading, writing, and being outdoors in Washington.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
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