Sacred Heart 31

I’ve come back to the country where I was happy
changed. Passion puts no terrible strain on me now.
I wonder what will take the place of desire.
I could be the ghost of my own life returning
to the places I lived best. Walking here and there
nodding when I see something I cared for deeply.
Now I’m in my house listening to the owls calling
and wondering if slowly I will take on flesh again.

Linda Gregg (1942 – 2019) was an American poet.

Does this poem reflect the musing of the mind traveling back through time, or is it the imaginings of a spirit coming back to review a life lived?

As an older person myself I was most intrigued by the statement, “I wonder what will take the place of desire.” I found that as one ages, youthful passions finally lose their fierce urgency for fulfillment and replaced by an opportunity to experience contentment. While the object of desire may no longer hold, desire itself burns more steady and at times brighter. Joy remains.

Shall we take on flesh again or listen to the owls?