Remembering

Where has she gone, this young girl
On the cusp of life
Standing in the garden of youth
With her new bike?

Who is she, this old lady
With her Zimmer frame
Hovering in the wings awaiting her entry
Onto life's stage?

My birthday this year falls on Remembrance Sunday.
With the nation I remember the fallen in wars over the globe,
I also remember the many years since that day when I stood so proudly beside my new bike, and know that because of these young men and women who died in the wars, my life has been peaceful, secure and safe.

I am lucky to still be alive, and will ignore that old lady hovering in the wings.

Never have these lines been so apt as for me today:
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.