They Don't Tell You

They don’t tell you
you will run out of time.

At least
they don’t tell you in any way
that would make you believe it.

They don’t tell you
you will run out of time

and here’s the kicker:
they don’t tell you
that it will happen years before
you lie down on that final mattress.

They don’t tell you

there are always new
shoots poking up through earth
shoots that will shove aside even the sturdiest
of old trees.

Perry L. Powell lives near Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. His work has appeared in Atavic Poetry, Cattails, Dead Snakes, eyedrum periodically, Frogpond, Haiku Presence, Prune Juice, Ribbons, The Camel Saloon, The Heron's Nest, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, The Lyric, vox poetica, Wolf Willow Journal and elsewhere.