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A Poem About the Journey of Growing Old Together
Growing old together is one of life's most meaningful journeys. The years bring changes, memories, challenges, and blessings, but they can also deepen the love shared between two people who have walked through life side by side.
In Yes, We Are Growing Old, Howard Carleton Tripp reflects on aging through the changing seasons of life. Spring represents youth, summer the strength of our earlier years, and autumn the later years when we begin to look back on where we have been and what we have accomplished.
There is sadness in realizing how quickly the years pass, but the poem also carries an important message about how we use the time that remains. Tripp encourages us to make peace with God, fill our lives with good deeds, treasure what is more valuable than material possessions, and allow love to become even sweeter as the years go by.
Updated September 19, 2026, by Catherine Pulsifer.
Yes, We Are Growing Old
Poet: Howard Carleton Tripp
Yes, we are growing old!
The shadows of the evening time are here!
The afternoon of life shall disappear
So swiftly that at best 'twill only seem
Much like the ghostly phantoms of a dream;
'Tis time for us to make our peace with God,
To be less frugal of our hoarded gold,
For soon we'll sleep beneath the silent sod.
For we, alas, dear wife, are growing old!
Yes, we are growing old!
No panacea of mankind can bring
Us back to life's fair promises of spring!
Nor let into our years the olden blaze
That gladdened life's too brief, bright summer days,
When in our prime we hastened fast along
Ere we had felt the autumn's frost and cold;
Alas, we once were young and blithe and strong,
But now, alas, dear wife, we're growing old!
Yes, we are growing old!
The harvest days of life are all too brief!
Ah, may Old Time in binding up life's sheaf.
Bind up good thoughts and deeds, and then destroy
The weeds and tares that grew up to annoy
Us as we journeyed swiftly down the slope
Unto the very sands of shining gold!
Oh, may we cling unto life's sweetest hope!
Alas, alas, dear wife, we're growing old!
Yes, we are growing old!
Oh, Father Time, but stay thy speed and bring
Us back once more to life's fair days of spring!
Oh, let us wander in its summer meads,
Filling life full of grand acts and good deeds!
Oh, let the autumn's harvest be complete
With precious things more valuable than gold;
Oh, let our love be yet more fond and sweet,
For we, alas, alas, are growing old!
Key Reflections In This Poem
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Life Moves Quickly
The changing seasons remind us how quickly the years of life pass. Youth may seem as though it will last forever, but before we know it, we are looking back and wondering where the time went.
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Focus On What Truly Matters
The poem encourages us to value faith, love, kindness, and good deeds more than material possessions. As the years pass, these are the things that give our lives lasting meaning.
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Growing Older Brings Reflection
Looking back can bring both gratitude and a longing for earlier days. Yet remembering the past can also help us appreciate the life we have lived and the time that remains.
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Love Can Grow Sweeter With Time
The poet does not allow aging to diminish the love between husband and wife. Instead, he hopes their love will become even more tender and precious as they grow older together.
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Conclusion
Yes, We Are Growing Old reminds us that none of us can stop the passing years. We may sometimes wish we could return to the spring and summer of life, but each season brings its own meaning and opportunities to appreciate what we have.
Growing older together is not simply about counting the years. It is about sharing memories, supporting one another, strengthening our faith, and continuing to show love through every season of life. May the years ahead bring a love that, as Tripp writes, becomes "yet more fond and sweet."