Strip life to the bone

and rebuild it to suit your 

needs while you still can 

The old man's words I 

only half listened to now

 resonate within. 

The night comes quickly 

now, like a soft-footed thief

to steal all my time.  

Paradigms shift and

the earth shakes but you perceive 

the world as unchanged 

Twinkling lights evoke

a season of cheer and fire 

distant memories 

Woebegone and worse

as the winter set in and

the world lay fallow  

Between the slits of

my eyes and the slats of the 

blinds the day began