Fine Wine, Aged Too Soon

Though vitality seems to be in my dugout,
Age is ahead with a surprising streak;
Someone who used to be so young, so carefree...
Is now becoming old and meek.
My eyes are starting to cloud
And my hair has since begun to grey,
It's hard to imagine a life that could
Make someone so young look this way.
From a journey completed far too soon
My feet travel at a shuffle, old and heavy,
Hands that once held so much life,
Knotted and crippled before they were ready.
The spirit of a young woman,
The appearance of an old, aged, wiser lady.
Things seen, experienced, witnessed
Way before the age of reason.

The eve of my 19th birthday is near,
But instead, I feel as though it were my centennial.
Watching two loved ones suffer, each from a
Seperate illness that plagued them in different ways.
One lost the battle, she has since passed:
Passed to a different place with no pain,
No sadness;
No misery;
No hurting.
The other is still here, battling daily
Against a sickness that is a rogue in the night.
A nameless face as of yet, but one so vicious
That it causes him great, unimaginable pain.
Pain that I cannot help, heal, or stop,
And it rips my heart maliciously...

Looking back, my life has been easier than most
In terms of difficulties faced and dealt with.
But, in my own way, I have experienced more than some
Will ever have the chance to see in a lifetime;
And I do not wish that on anyone.
Feeling older than one should can be good,
Though it also carries with it a curse:
Friends see you as seperate...in a new class.
Elders include you in their circle too soon
And all the while, you still feel none-the-wiser.