As an Old Man Speaks to Himself as a Child

Child.
Listen.
Wait.
Watch.
Time.
Fleeting.
Fingers.
Empty.
Hold.
Tighter.
Looser.
Balance.
Trust.
Fall.
Rise.
Again.

Dream.
Build.
Break.
Mend.
Loss.
Teaches.
Pain.
Shapes.
Heat.
Refines.
Gold.
Buried.
Deep.
Dig.
Deeper.

Speak.
Kindly.
Hesitate.
Think.
Wounds.
Heal?
Sometimes.
Not.
Remember.
Regret.
Burns.
Soothes.
Largesse.
Freely.
Given.
Receive.

Faith.
Costly.
Doubt.
Loud.
Truth.
Quieter.
Still.
Sure.
Stay.
Near.
Fear?
Always.
Answer?
Love.
Always.

Run.
Return.
Hold.
Open.
Laugh.
Sing.
Grieve.
Hope.
Time?
Gone.
Yet—
Now.
Now.
Now.