No Old Souls

 

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.)