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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LINES ON REACHING MATURITY, by LEITH SHACKEL
First Line: I do not weep for days that now are past
Last Line: I do not weep for days that now are past.
Subject(s): Maturity
First Line: I do not weep for days that now are past
Last Line: I do not weep for days that now are past.
Subject(s): Maturity
I do not weep for days that now are past,
Nor do I mourn that youth has fled so fast;
For it is not the happy carefree time
That poets paint so skillfully in rhyme.
It is a time of gnawing doubts and fears,
Of shattered idols and of secret tears,
When mind and soul and body fight to see
Which shall be uppermost in days to be.
No loving heart nor gently guiding hand
Can ease the pain as mind and soul expand.
To hide uncertainty, youth strikes a pose,
And swaggers boldly telling what he knows.
There are so few who see the trembling heart
That he contrives to hide with manly art;
And thus alone, he fights for his release
Till warring instincts fuse and leave him peace.
So, having reached maturity at last,
I do not weep for days that now are past.
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