On Growing Old
On Growing Old
© Ben Burton 5-21-2014
I was something to behold back in my childhood
Quite the trickster, I was faster than my prey
Plastic vomit, rubber snakes, the best was "Hotfoot"
April first was in my wheelhouse every day
I was thirty when I wed my childhood sweetheart
Soon there'd come a run of sadness in my life
We were overjoyed the day my wife got pregnant
In delivery, she and our baby died
Through the years I watched my world move on without me
No more reason to buy greeting cards to send
Guess the hardest part of life is in the living
With pretensions that it's never gonna end
Lost my mom and dad when I was still a young man
Seven siblings met their maker one by one
My old friends are buried in a dozen graveyards
I'm as healthy as a horse, but feeling numb
Goodbye doesn't seem the same when no one hears it
And "Hellos" aren't needed with a room so bare
Though it can be fun to watch the odd reaction
From the unfamiliar faces standing there
It is frightening to see death in all its faces
Never knowing which will knock upon my door
I will fight like hell as Scary Ned approaches
Though I'll wonder what it is I'm fighting for
I now realize the only thing I'm growing
Is more lonely with each shallow breath I take
For all happiness abandoned me by fifty
I should think I'd be relieved to greet the wraith
But there's no need for complaining at this juncture
I rode life like a wild stallion in my day
Now, I face that final ride into forever
Feeling gratified I had my chance to race
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