The difference

40 is always 40.
It has always looked the same for the most part.
The difference
between you at 20
and now at 37, looking up at 40
with the optimistic resignation
of one who doesn't believe she's that close:
You can see the youth
that once was there,
perhaps still is.
You can see who they once were
and who they've carried over into today.
History is a sixth sense for you,
one you didn't have nearly two decades ago,
one you're now better equipped to understand.