The young speak to say something, to make a name.
The old repeat to hold themselves the same. 
Midlife is for any age, a state of mind.
It’s saying what you think you’d better say,
Like it or not, because the words, not you,
Might budge some dense thing in someone’s way
(Although by speaking you are using time,
That dwindling light, that sinking sun).
Your words are not true, not original,
Not worth repeating, especially by you;
They have their purpose, they take their turn.
Midlife is the breadwinner, the driver,
The gentle nudge and the picture-taker. 
Tender to those who speak to speak, and those 
Who sing one more time what they fear to lose. 

See also: youth, midlife & old-age as states of mind; echoes.