Old Souls are not a thing.
It’s something I’ve self-referenced
and have been referred to as, by
others, but I’m coming to realize,
there’s no such thing.
If souls exist, they are neither
old or young, it’s a pretentious label
slapped on the prepackaged idea of
who you are; your self-identity
as described to you, by others.
“Young Mr. So-and-so, is very responsible
for his age,” doesn’t mean Young Mr. So-and-So,
has an Old Soul, it just means that they
might have a greater sense of responsibility
or have developed some empathy at an
early age and comport themselves as such.
The same applies to those we accuse
of having a Young Soul, some youthful
exuberance or Devil may care energy,
it’s not a real thing, but a crafty way
to classify and separate people.
We’re all just (if you believe in it) souls,
bumping into shit as we plod along
this pathway of life, tripping and stumbling,
learning and growing, breaking and healing
with each precarious step.
We do not need to be labeled,
we do not need or branded into some
codifying corral, we are who we are
the moment we reach that moment,
and whomever we are at that moment.
There’s wisdom in the soul, old or young,
(if you believe in that sort of thing)
I’d rather believe that people are capable of
great acts of good or of evil and hopefully
choose to be good.
For the betterment of their soul,
(if you, of course, believe in that sort of thing.)
