Silver Cabin in the Woods

 

When You are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of the shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

…….

                                          --W.B. Yeats 

 

Davidson River NC September 27, 2012

When I was in college (and studying Yeats) and Patty was still in St Louis fending off med students, a torrent of letters flew back and forth.  After years of hanging out together as “just Friends” , we were debating if a life separated by 500 miles was even tolerable and whether a long life together was a workable plan.  It was not an easy conversation given the myriad distractions in our lives, the still liquid state of our individual dreams.  Once, along the way we dreamed together of our older selves growing old in a cozy cabin in the woods, warm fire burning,  snow banked against the door.  All the unsettling dramas of mid life now behind us, we would just be together as we longed to be at that time.  We held onto that vision and  muddled through the many joys and sorrows of mid life and, today, nestled warmly in our cozy Silver Cabin in the woods, it is hard to even consider that bike trails beckon and fish flash in eddies just yards away and we may need to replenish the groceries.  In the quiet woods locations that change every few days and in sunshine and maybe just a little snow, we are together and it feels right.