Becoming Old

They are changes, subtle
yet persistent, noted
in some remote recess
of the mind, but
relegated to the back,
ignored and unexamined,
present as a deep-seated
feeling of loss, a hum
of disquiet, surfacing
when we are most 
emotionally vulnerable,
as a tremor may warn
of impending collapse
and thoughts become
chaotic with confusion
and we fail to grasp
the significance of
decelerating functionality,
our physical sovereignty ebbing
and worn with a lifetime
of casual use, our senses
declining while distant
memories flood our sensory
system - other avenues
of plausible existence
fading the while all takes
on an unfamiliar hue as of a
witness to the final act of
someone's span of life.