Poem: Nesting Boxes

Nesting Boxes
Birthday 2017

When Loren first told me
there was such a thing as ageless,
it seemed like a concept so far away,
unthinkable and untouchable.

Now I mount the stairs
with the timidity of a mouse,
unable to satisfy anyone,
including myself, and these days

I find life fits together like nesting boxes,
tucked inside one another,
too small to carry anything of substance,
a little too snug to slip away and fall.

Dear, I worry you need to find someone
who might suit you more tightly,
filling emptiness only youth can fill,
perhaps a couple boxes short of ageless.