Let the young ones sleep

You are older, it seems, than some people... and so they call you OLD.

Old.

Old.

Old.

You have wrinkles you do not cover and your hair is gray and you have lived for something like seventy-four years on this earth without much complaint.... there is nothing much to complain about.

But some people look at you and think you should stop now... rest now... grow old now, gracefully...

But you have lived gracefully enough you don't have time to grow old.You have a canoe...

And that canoe has a river...

And that river does not end...

And you watch the river flow and watch it flow... and watch your hands turn eighty years old in the middle of a river bend.

You hike thirteen miles at the end of the day and this is how you rest, that is how you rest.

So let the young ones sleep.

Let the whole world sleep.... you will sleep when you have to.

You are crossing the water... crossing the water...

And there is so much water left to be crossed...