Growing Old

Here is a poem by my youngest daughter, Christine. She was an honorable mention in the 2010 Student Poetry Contest through the Kentucky State Poetry Society.




Growing Old
By Christine Rightmyer

When you grow up
feeling old,
you wonder what you did wrong
as the weight of the world
worms through the decayed
newspaper clippings of your brain.

Toss and turn,
blissfully lethargic.
Fall into a void
only as cool
as the other side of the pillow.

No sleep for the wicked.
Growing old feels like you should
have been dead years ago.
Making friends with everyone else’s demons,
now you’re buried under insomnia’s
right arm.

You only grow old
when you think about them.