Strange Cycles

I sighed my way
Down the ragged old street,
Then noticed a girl a short way from my feet.

I pondered at first,
My eyes strained with confusion,
Was the sight a reality or a delusion?

‘The world is so sad!’
The little girl said.
She sat on the ground with hands placed on her head.

She seemed so upset
That I knelt by her side.
I explained it was raining, and she must go inside.

But where were her parents?
Was the girl all alone?
I looked up to see that the child had grown.

With hand on her eyes
The older girl cries
‘The world is too big, and all filled with lies.’

My heart fluttered in shock
Yet I dug in my mind
For words which would sound at least a bit kind.

When I raised my gaze
From the filthy, cracked floor
I found that the girl had aged once more.

‘The world is so lonely!’
Moaned the woman in tears
With her shoulders hunched over and hands on her ears.

I dug in my pocket,
In search of a tissue,
Not sure how to take on this sort of issue.

The sobbing continued
But when came the next peek
I saw wrinkles have formed on the strange woman’s cheek.

With hands on her mouth
The old woman mumbles
‘The world is so strange, and so filled with troubles.’

The dark concrete road
Suffered slap after slap
Of raindrops conducting their quick, angry tap.

I rose to my feet
For no one should stay
Long outside on such a rainy day.

Yet the old, slouching lady
Was nowhere to be found
Only grass in her place, springing up from the ground.

That’s when the rain
Said its final adieu.
The riddle was there but I hadn't a clue.