A Passing Glance

The other day as I turned the corner onto my quiet street I saw a woman so perfect she snatched my breath away as she waited to cross the road. It was like seeing a movie star or a beauty queen up close-- my heart ached a bit, I confess, when I thought, once, a long, long time ago, I just might have had a chance.... But now I'm just an old man driving an old car to an old house. I drove slowly and could see her gracefully crossing the street in my rear-view mirror, much like a dream fading quickly away... suddenly, from somewhere far beyond my mind, I realized the truth of what I saw: that it was all stupid illusion-- she was young and beautiful, I, old and lame, but those were just markers on the wheel of time. The wheel would turn, my body would die, hers would age, no longer enrapturing men: in a way, she was already an old woman which I could not see, nor could I see the sweet child still playing within her. When there are no more days left, our souls will be free of the Wheel and all the world's illusions will seem as distant, fading dreams....