I See Myself Older

I see myself older
sitting like I sit now,
drinking coffee,
drifting through the pages
of a book, but then
with a beard all gray
and less hair on
my head to shave—anyway,
I’ll be sitting, sipping
a mug of coffee, thinking
of some imagining
from today
that touched down
like a maple seed
and nestled
in soil and would grow
into some greenery of
my life, which my
gray-bearded self
is shaded by
calmly and with kindness.

written January 27, 2025