At first the infant loud, obnoxious, pestering yet still cute, with small teeth and large eyes
It learns to breathe fresh air
Small and still innocent, his eyes stare dimly into the world beyond
Then a small child thrust into school
With his tiny backpack and quick smiles against the tide of old ladies with large grins
Struggling to put one foot forward
He lives for the quick respites of recess
The older high school boy full of dreams and hopes but a man not yet
For he is a hunter and his game is all around
Icy blood flows through his heart of steel, cold stares, and colder smiles
Searching for the spark to start the wildfire within
Then the fighter
Gambling, drinking wasting away, too hardened for a smile
Just sneers and shot-glasses filled with warm tears
Ripped apart he takes to the streets
Using hard fists and harsh words to gain a reputation
Then a family man trying to make it in the world
Under the tutelage of the woman he calls wife he becomes civilized
With his suburban house and white picket fence he lives without convictions
Hardened scars cross his body
Gained in pride and worn with shame they become stories scorned
Old he becomes under his children’s watchful gaze his smiles turn feeble and slow
Not being able to do things for himself makes him hateful and sour
Last he puts down his hands and rests them upon his bed
He tells his children to rest his body in the cold, hard earth
For his last act of life is upon him
His contemplations end and he wastes away
Arising as a ghost in the killing fields of crushing, black oblivion he laughs
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Submission Name: The Stages of Life
