Very young or very old; always the 'write' age

“Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at age 15 to write several novels.” – May Sarton

So, today is my 70^th birthday and as comedian Jack Benny once said, “Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.”  One writer I’ve long admired and who always said, “age didn’t matter” whether it was at age 15 (when she first began) or at age 70, was May Sarton.

I share today’s birth date with Sarton – (that’s the day, not the year since she was born in 1912) – and I’ve always enjoyed her writing, especially her poems about the earth and nature, many written after she reached age 70.    Among them was her thoughtful and thought-filled poem, December Moon.  On this anniversary of both of our births, I thought I’d share it – a terrific example of what you can produce whenever you pay attention to those “writers’ moments” that surround you.

December Moon

Shining there in the moonlight
So calm, untouched and white
Snow silence fills my head
After I leave the window.

Hours later near dawn
When I look down again
The whole landscape has changed
The perfect surface gone
Criss-crossed and written on
Where the wild creatures ranged
While the moon rose and shone.

Why did my dog not bark?
Why did I hear no sound
There on the snow-locked ground
In the tumultuous dark?

How much can come, how much can go
When the December moon is bright,
What worlds of play we'll never know
Sleeping away the cold white night
After a fall of snow.

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