Growth and Aging
A Tanka Series
written by: Mary Beth Cox
Growing like bamboo:
green, fast. We slowly rock them
every chance we get
and worry about echoes
from people other than us.
All the trash emptied
and toilet paper restocked
and groceries purchased
by someone other than me.
This is my lovely daydream.
Aging is juicy,
deliciously capricious.
I think I’ll skip it.
I’ll quietly disappear
when nobody is looking.
He picks the best songs.
Together we slowly sway
and fear sagging jowls.
Inertia is looming large;
I’m scared he will fade away.
Twelve more years of days
loving, living together.
We need gratitude,
to dance close in the kitchen,
to savor these long minutes.
Knees ache when they bend,
minor yet influential.
Quietly prepare
because we know how this ends.
Hold me a little tighter.
Quickly make a list
of things you love about me,
and I’ll do it too-
about you, your crooked smile;
the way I feel next to you.
I feel happy now.
My soul is frogs exhaling
on water lilies
floating on a brackish pond
among the one-celled creatures.
You forgot my name,
and thought I was your sister
just for a second.
Don’t worry your little head;
it’s going through some changes.
Old friend, please sit down;
let’s reminisce for a while,
about our childhood
under the fluorescent lights,
sitting on green plastic chairs.
Let me touch your hand.
Your skin has gotten older
and mottled with time
like tree bark and speckled eggs-
some of my favorite things.
Melting snow like lace
stretches across the green grass;
the wind skims the top.
The memory of our love
is slowly fading from time.
- Growth and Aging - January 13, 2026
- The Morning Kiss - July 6, 2025
