Ages of Man (a poem based on the “All the world’s a stage” monologue from Shakespeare’s As You Like It)

Ages of Man

 

Infant:

Out of the pellucid womb, I grasp for reeds I can weave

Schoolboy:

into a song. Hoping by a smile of favor, I may play

Lover:

a fragrant note.

Soldier:

Or be the crack in a sideways street

Justice:

whose upset cries for the hills that came before.

Pantalone:

Leaving room for a familiar door

Old age:

to close the curtains parted in passion.

-Amy Struthers

Image by Nick Cooper