Thoughts don't come
as quickly or as sharply
as they used to.

And yet I believe that
this will be a
good time of my life.

I no longer like to hurry
and so I miss less.

I find myself pausing now
to listen to the birds sing,
to enjoy the healing quality
of the wind on my cheeks,
to appreciate the blue black
calm of dusk
and the night's silent promise
of a new day.

Things are much clearer now,
youthful pains and passions calming
and no longer blurring my vision.

Hard feelings have softened,
and a deeper acceptance
and appreciation
lives in me now
for people and things,
for myself,
and for God.

Now I recognize
what's truly important
and what's merely artificial.

Now I'm more patient,
finding beauty that
I'd missed.

I let go of the pain
that had stuck in my chest
and weighed down my life.

Anxiety is fading,
and in its place,
there's a new mellowness
that's not unlike
the soft white light
that shines on the dawn.