If
wisdom
comes with age,
I long to be
Methuselah, experienced and sage.
But if confusion should befall me when
long in the tooth,
I'd rather
keep my
youth.
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Author Notes
The tetractys is a poem of five lines, with syllable count of 1/2/3/4/10. The number of syllables in the first four lines add up the 10, the number in the final line. The point is to make a single statement in just 20 syllables, be the statement profound or humorous. This is a double tetractys, in which the second verse begins with 10 syllables and works down to 1. The rhyming I've employed is not required by allowed.
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age was mentioned in the Bible - he was said to be 969 years old when he died 7 days before the great flood began.
Long in the tooth is a phrase that refers to old age, most likely because horse's teeth grow longer with age. It was first used to refer to old people by Thackeray.
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