Age
by Kay Ryan
As some people age
they kinden.
The apertures of their eyes widen.
I do not think they weaken;
I think something weak strengthens
until they are more and more it,
like letting in heaven.
But other people are
mussels or clams, frightened.
Steam or knife blades mean open.
They hear heaven, they think boiled or broken.
Kay Ryan (American, born 1945) was the sixteenth Poet Laureate. The poem "Age" is included in The Best of It: New and Selected Poems.
by Kay Ryan
As some people age
they kinden.
The apertures of their eyes widen.
I do not think they weaken;
I think something weak strengthens
until they are more and more it,
like letting in heaven.
But other people are
mussels or clams, frightened.
Steam or knife blades mean open.
They hear heaven, they think boiled or broken.
Kay Ryan (American, born 1945) was the sixteenth Poet Laureate. The poem "Age" is included in The Best of It: New and Selected Poems.
