Caroline Howard Gilman - Old Age.

WHY should old age escape unnoticed here,
That sacred era to reflection dear?
That peaceful shore where passion dies away,
Like the last wave that ripples o'er the bay?
Oh, if old age were cancell'd from our lot,
Full soon would man deplore the unhallow'd blot!
Life's busy day would want its tranquil even,
And earth would lose her stepping-stone to heaven.

Caroline Howard Gilman

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/old-age-32/