WHY should old age escape unnoticed here, <br />That sacred era to reflection dear? <br />That peaceful shore where passion dies away, <br />Like the last wave that ripples o'er the bay? <br />Oh, if old age were cancell'd from our lot, <br />Full soon would man deplore the unhallow'd blot! <br />Life's busy day would want its tranquil even, <br />And earth would lose her stepping-stone to heaven.<br /><br />Caroline Howard Gilman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/old-age-32/
