Who are you now?
What is left
when your accomplishments fade
and your allies betray?
When life hasn’t held up
its side of the bargain?
What is left
when your own flesh
mocks your demands?
When admiring eyes
no longer pause
at your entrance?
When you can no longer hide
or deny
the effects of time?
Who are you
when you become
what you swore
you never would?
Back when you believed
you were exceptional.
When you believed you deserved
an exception.
What is left
when your desire
has not abated
but your energy falters?
When your insight is keener
but your eyesight fails?
When you suddenly realize
you’re a spectator,
no longer a player?
What endures,
what emerges,
as the mountains
of your life
erode?
Whether old or new,
what now
is True?
© S. Rinderle, July 2026
