Are we ever too old?

The poet Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006) wasn’t too old, as shown in this

poem, written when Kunitz was nearly a hundred years old:

“The Layers”

I have walked through many lives,

some of them my own,

and I am not who I was,

though some principle of being

abides, from which I struggle

not to stray.

When I look behind,

as I am compelled to look

before I can gather strength

to proceed on my journey…

Though I lack the art

to decipher it,

no doubt the next chapter

in my book of transformations

is already written.

I am not done with my changes.

For the complete poem, visit:

To hear Stanley Kunitz reading the poem in his voice, visit:

James Woodward