Growing Old Ungracefully

Lord, have mercy! Who is that in the mirror I view?
That can't be me with the gray-haired hue!
Seems only yesterday I was a jaunty thirty-five,
Now, I'm reminded that I'm nearing seventy-five!

What are those brown spots on my hands and face?
On top of my pate, I observe a sizeable bald space.
To further deflate my ego, I wear a pair of specs.
Alas, I'm rapidly becoming one of those mortal wrecks!

My teeth grin at me from a glass on the table,
And I have a cane handy to keep me stable.
In the morning as I arise I detect a creak.
Is that the bed springs or my bones making that squeak?

In church I must occupy the very front pew.
From the rear the preacher's words are hard to construe.
It takes me more time to shuffle around the block.
After all, I'm no longer a twenty-five year old jock!

Sometimes I feel as if I'm falling apart,
But thankfully there are docs, their services to impart,
And if they can manage to keep me all patched up,
I'll get around, thank you, as well as any young pup!

Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)
Copyright © | Year Posted 2010

Poem

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Horn Avatar
June 9, 2014 at 7:31 PM
I always sit in the front pew and front row. I want to be in the middle of all the action and make sure everyone is aware that I want to be aware. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Do have lower back pain every once in a while after being on my knees for four hours. Will be 73 on June 26. Had to make it all on my own. Dad killed on Aircraft Carrier Intrepid in 1956 when I just turned 15. Your meaningful poems are very similar to mine. Jim Horn
White Avatar
March 27, 2011 at 11:24 AM
I really enjoy reading your work. I find my body is experiencing the same.
La France Avatar
February 21, 2010 at 12:57 PM
This was so much fun to read, what a sense of humour you have, you may have aged in body, but your mind is sharp as any man twenty-five... any young pup... Constance
Kendrick Avatar
February 21, 2010 at 12:43 PM
That's the attitude to have... the last line that is. Keep the creative pen flowing. Sara
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