Tell Me Why We Grow Older

The blunt truth is that we cannot
stop the freight train.  No matter
how much effort we put into it, time
is the unstoppable force in our paradox

and we don't have anything close
to an immovable object.  And yet
in vain, and in our vanity, we try
to reduce any sign that we have

gained wisdom and knowledge
from our years here on the earth.
Still, as we stride long, reaching
steps toward the center of our lives,

we still have no understanding
of where we are going,
how we intend to get there,
and what we will do when we arrive.

So tell me, wizened sage,
who, by all appearances, is never
as old as the prophets of old
or grand philosophers of ancient kingdoms,

why must we age?  And why
must we leave our comfort zone
of the prime of life?  Which, for most of us,
is exactly the age we currently are.