In your twenties, you usually leave the nest,
unless there’s some kind of extraordinary circumstances.

You’re finally free and you do things
with a naïve verve
rarely matched at that age.

In your 30’s you’ve most likely
been burned a lot.

Loss comes heavy
and you begin to drag around the ghosts.

Your body begins to recognize
it’s limits and it’s oncoming demise.

Going into your forties you understand
your father’s intensity when you were a child.

You understand

the sad cruelty

in his eyes.