Petals Falling

I took health for granted,

my youth like a rose

To bloom in the present,

till thorns would depose

Attacking my body,

invading my mind

The sleep I’d grown used to,

much harder to find

Not a cold or a fever

for so many a year

No matter the weather,

with nothing to fear

But time is recalling

its card worn and thin

Infirmity threatens

—death budding within

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2020)