Middle-Aged at Twenty-Three

			
What remains of a once-great life?
These bones, gilded with time,
And broken by the same,
Boiled in its flame
Broken, broken,
The marrow, sweet,
Fatty, rich,
Pulled, extracted, leeched,
 
Flavoring a broth
Inspired of remedy
Holistic
 
I grow old, I grow old
With every turning of the gilded page
Heavy with dust, heavy with dust