Who knew it worked this way

The courting couple
Seated in Starbucks
Was not young
But neither were they old
They were, like me
Of that age that says you have
Lived enough to learn your limitations
But not enough to have answers
To the questions that follow

Obion County, Tennessee has some of the
Richest soil in the state
Possibly even the world
And soybeans and corn almost
Leap from the ground
My father-in-law told me this once
On a trip there
His world was
Laid down over decades, possibly millennia

Eyes that see without blinders or
Shades tinted with a pleasing hue
Grow over years and miles
The gray hair I own the
Wrinkles in my brow that are deep and fixed
Were not given as thoughtful graduation gifts
These accoutrements of living were earned
And learned through endless cycles of
Gain and loss

Having spent the small change of easy schooling
Years ago
It is now with haggard patience
I have begun
The slow, settled accumulation
Of the dark, rich soil that
One hopes - in my latter years
Will begin to pass
For wisdom

dg

11/6/11

Sent from my iPad
http://jdavidgamble.blogspot.com/