How We Age

We never know when we are young

Exactly how we’ll age.

So many unknown factors

All pitch in to set the stage.

 

Of course, we have our DNA,

A part of us since birth,

And then the way we live our lives

For all our years on earth.

 

The food we eat, the jobs we have,

Our exercise (or lack),

The stress we face and problems which

May veer us off the track.

 

The health-related issues

And the treatments they entail

May be tough enough that skin will sag

And wrinkles will prevail.

 

When school reunions happen

And we see each older face,

We might see pain and suffering

That make-up can’t erase.

 

Yet seeing others with their years

Of troubles on display

May fool us into being glad

That we don’t look that way.