Youth

The long empty roads,

Sullen fires of sunset, fading,

The eternal, unresponsive sky.

Against all this, Youth,

Flaming like the wild roses,

Singing like the larks over the plowed fields,

Flashing like a star out of the twilight;

Youth with its insupportable sweetness,

It’s fierce necessity,

It’s sharp desire,

Singing and singing,

Out of the lips of silence,

Out of the earthy dusk. —Willa Cather

I’m sharing this poem with you because it reminds me of my students who are in their 20‘s. Not because of their youth, but because I can see how in awe they are with my students who are 30+ years older than they. I am equally in awe as I watch my 50-years-and-older students defy age by infinitely holding plank, nailing a difficult transition, tackling an arm balance, or taking a rest when needed.

There’s a spring in their step, a postural confidence... They show up to the challenges on their mats with a sweetness, a fierce necessity, and a sharp desire for what the practice (i.e., life) has to teach them.

Here‘s to the flaming youth that keeps us singing and singing! Happy New Year, yogis!