The intersection of youth and old age

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It gripped him by the leg
Time treated him harshly
Without faith, life would have been unbearable for him
Even now, he lingers on
While disease strapped him to his chair
Old age deteriorated his health completely.
The once strong man is now beyond fragile
Life is not as it seems
The longness of a short life
Marred by excruciating pain
While some pray for death to sweep them away
It stays far away from them

You can't expect anything worse than disease in life
Life is a golden tragedy sometimes
The dimness of light
The shinning darkness
The bleakness of hope
The frankness of lies
Life is an ironical paradox

The mother of his children suffers to sustain him
She shoulders a large family all alone.
Has been doing so for decades
Fire dries her tears
Good looks hides her trauma
Women are resourceful
Give them credit for it

Early marriage is a cancer
Especially when young women are married to old men
It turns bliss into blanks, gain into loss, marriage into massacre, bride price into death price
Early marriage is a cancer
Early marriage must be obliterated

His young children shudder to prod him
They look on helplessly as he withers away
He calls them with a groan voice
He calls them with a tearfully choked voice
His now wobbly body emanates sorrow

Maybe I'm not making sense to you
But I am trying to tell you something
I have a message
I carry a warning
I carry a sign
Life is a beautiful tragedy
Live it well or regret will be nothing compared to your woes

Old age doesn't necessarily come with wisdom but it definitely comes with deteriorating health and a frail body.

While you pray for long life, pray even more for good health.

                         YUSSIF AHMED
                          ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com

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