On the surface, it is an unadulterated good,
the power to resist decay, corrosion,
disintegration. Timeless movements,
timeless faces, timeless bodies of those
who shame us with their eternal
youthfulness, their lovely optimism,
their sickening hope. Is it the best thing
we can do, this pushing past the prime?
Or do we deny ourselves the finality
of giving up, of giving in? They say pain
signals us to attend to the body, to respond
to whatever is hurting us, whoever
is killing us. But denying weakness
is not the same as strength.
By Leona Sevick
Gulf Stream Magazine 