Age and Knowledge

My eyes have been bothering me for the last few months and today I was finally able to visit my ophthalmologist. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I quickly observed that I was the youngest person there: most of the patients consisted of older men and women, either in matrimonial pairs or walking individually with a cane.

While I waited, I decided to write this poem:

Today,
I was the young girl in the waiting room
Staring at faces and eyes
That have seen so much more than I have.

Did the older woman across from me
Wonder where I was going,
Knowing the situations and upsets
That will confront me?

I wonder if she knew about love,
Then I could've asked her what it was
And if it's the same creature it used to be—
I am only beginning to find out
What it is not.

 But at this moment,
It is my turn in life
To greet the free-spirited cat of experience
And simply wonder where it has been.

I suppose I'll call this poem "Museums and Children": seems fitting, no? Anyways, right after I wrote this I decided something; if I were ever to meet experience embodied in a certain way, it would be in the visage of an old man (not to steal from Joseph Campbell or anything ;) and I would sit across from him in a booth inside of a diner. We would both have cups of coffee in our hand, but the mug would fit his hand so much better than mine. My hands would be pretty and slender, but they would look as if they were grasping the cup, trying to fit all of the cup into my grip. He would wear existence better than I.

I think if I were to ever meet this man I would just stare at him, as if just a subtle twitch of the lips could tell me everything about eternity. I just wonder at all the things I'm going to have to learn: at my college they have this program called "Degree Audit" that lets you see what percentage of credits you've covered and how many more you need. I wonder what that percentage would be if it applied to the entirety of knowledge that I will someday possess like an impatient heir. I wonder, I wonder...