Growing Pains

when you’re ten you’re sure
by the time you’re twenty
life will be yours to explore

when you’re twenty you say
by the time you’re thirty
you won’t feel like a castaway

when you’re thirty you think
by the time you’re forty
you’ll find your missing link

when you’re forty you feel
by the time you’re fifty
your scars are bound to heal

when you’re fifty you know
by the time you’re sixty
you’ll still be you, although

when you’re sixty you hope
just to get to seventy
as though time itself were the dope

when you’re seventy you wonder
is that all there is?
knowing there’s no answer

but up to you –
thenceforth with tears
         or laughter?

Tom Vaughan


If you have any thoughts on this poem,  Tom Vaughan  would be pleased to hear them.