The doctor put the disc
into the side of the computer
so the old man could see
the MRI of his old brain.

She gently, almost lyrically
pointed to its dark spaces,
so he could see how time
shrinks all life, even the brain.

But the old man smiled,
and said to the young doctor
[who was but half his age],
‘It’s a funny thing, Doc, 
how only in old age have
I become a poet, and
a published one at that!

My brain is lessening,
shrinking, while my mind
is ever growing–
reaching into spaces
both small and vast,
ever seeking,
ever wondering,
ever rhapsodizing
the world….’

– Nolo Segundo

Author’s Note: Getting old is stranger than anyone realizes, until you are the one getting old.