Crossing the Border

It can be scary, crossing a border,

not knowing the culture, the customs,

the language even, or just feeling

out of place, a stranger, unable to find

the necessities, that favored chain restaurant

or big box store—it’s discomforting; or it’s a line

drawn in the sand, a risk, a dare to cross over,

taunting, a double dare, perhaps, a gauntlet to be run.

So today, I take up that dare, accept that risk, rise

to the challenges and cross over this border of age, just

one step, today, on my birthday, turning 70, a new decade,

a stranger, out of place, uncomfortable, scary.