The decades have collapsed in on themselves,
those strata of experience, knowledge, skills,
compacted down
into a thick amorphous layer of decay
in which malice and mistrust have sprouted
feeding on the last remnants of thought
their clarity turned to caustic white sap
twisting about themselves for support
tangled, twining and thickening
into a thicket impermeable to reason,
leaving me thorn-gauged and stung
at each attempt to approach.
compost mentis
Filed under poem
anotherKate 
Perhaps I am not quite at this sad stage yet Kate, but as I get older I feel I get closer to my kids as they take responsibility for their own lives. A poignant poem, and very well expressed.😒
I’m sure you’re not at this stage, and I doubt you ever will be as you’re still engaging with the world. My parents stopped engaging with the world when they retired, and have become a cautionary tale about the need for social connection.
Oh dear Kate, that really is sad. As you say, it does show the importance of social interaction with each other. I really hope it is something they manage to work out for all your sakes. Good luck! 👍
Thanks Hobbo 🙂
Youch! 😦 Great title for a very gnarly description of somebody. A great metaphor!
Thanks Worms.
You leave me feeling torn and thwarted.
Perhaps it’s time I posted an “only good things”. 🙂
slow
i grow in age
but not nearly
sage
eh?
pfft
said the ex friend
raveny crow
ah, those first 4 lines are so very apt.
bingo~
Words to ponder 💭 It pays to mind your mind and do some mental gardening to keep the place tidy, but the damn weeds never seem to stop growing.