I see a wiser person than when I was younger: having babies and passing 30 were the turning points. What women in their 40s - I am 39 - lack in gorgeousness they make up for in wisdom. I love ageing despite the drawbacks - thinner drier skin.

There are simply more young people than there ever were. You get this feeling of strength. Also large numbers can be a drawback making it difficult to lose one's anonymity.

Poetry has the virtue of being able to say twice as much as prose in half the time and the drawback if you do not give it your full attention of seeming to say half as much in twice the time.

Any change even a change for the better is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.