Fountain of Youth

Line count:17

Sip by sip maturity arrived
I drink the wine of life each day,
hair by hair my ebony locks turned gray,
my face wrinkled and my breasts sagged.

In a mountain citadel,
I found a fountain gushing high
its waters cold as melting snow;
I dipped a chalice into the water
filled the cup up its brim.

Sip by sip I drank the water,
each sip reversed a year
from my eighty year old body,
while from my mind the wisdom flew.

A woman of eighteen,
I stand before the fountain weeping,
I have gained eternal youth and life,
but I must relearn eighty years of wisdom.