For some,
  Time is an invisible enemy;
  A determined army hot on the
  Worn heels of retreating youth.
                  For you,
  It is another chance to blossom.
Your youth is impenetrable because
        Life is still discoverable.
 Your mellow warmth is as timeless
As the sunrise, as constant as the sunset.

                 For some,
        Age is a silent intruder;
   A relentless thief stealing memories
            From the years,
                 For you,
      It is only a state of mind,
  Your wisdom has dried away the tears,
 Your optimism reduces age to a mere number,
             Your cheer for the new is
             A gift nothing can plunder.

                 For some,
  Beauty is a consuming obsession,
 Easy carrion for the vultures of vanity
         Hungry for shallow skin.
                   For you,
  It is a natural light that will never dim.
     It makes these gems of your soul
Radiate everyday because you give them away
          Never to be undone.
                  For me,
      Your years will always be young.

(For Caroline on the occasion of her 60th Birthday)