Thirty-Eight Is in the Prime of Life

Thirty-eight is in the prime of life:
Healthy, strong, resilient, self-assured;
Immersed in hours, needs, desires, things;
Reveling in what the moment brings;
Tender, patient, tough, to toil inured;
Yoked to sunshine with his long-loved wife.

Even as his heart is well secured,
In love he finds his happiness has wings.
Grace unfailing cradles him in flight.
High among the barren peaks he sings
The lowland songs of labor and delight.