when they find me

when they find me,
i am alone.
i am who i used to
be when i was
young. i am youthful,
my hair is thick
and brown, my limbs
are lean and strong,
i can run with
the wind of summer,
i have no lines
on my face, my
life is suddenly what
it used to before
time erased so
much of it.
i am alone when
they find me
and i have forgotten
what love is,
how love hurts and
destroys you. i only
see the good in
everything, in
everyone. i only
know the possibilities
not the closed
doors. but i am
alone when they
find me. i am
young until i am
told that i am
dreaming. that i
am an old man
near the end,
and someone
whispers into my
ear as i lie
there in the tall
grass of my youth,
in the ashes
of my spent life,
the future is not
what it used to
be, and i begin
to cry, i begin to
sob, knowing
that it's true
and i reach out for
her hand, but
she's not there, i
am alone when they
find me.