Old Age Poems

It Never Gets Old
We do; 
It doesn't.

The caring that fills the deep dark
The warmth that flows
From self to self
The deep, dear chains of love
Forged from...

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Somewhere there’s a
sunflower poking out from
the corner of a concrete
barrier, going unnoticed
by everyone except
myself.

And it makes
me wonder:

They say when
you fall in love with
an artist, you
can...

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Nagasaki

There are nights when things become clear 
when the Pacific Ocean lived up to its name 
I sat on deck, listened to the heartbeat of
the vessel, which...

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It's not at all easy to come to term
with this 'new' old version of me.
I'm dealing with a sadly sagging anatomy
where what-used-to-be is now not-quite-so-firm.

I'm...

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Who am I
I sometimes wonder
Yesterday I was young
Today I am old
In May I was a social butterfly
Come July I crave solitude
One year I am smart
The...

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The mule in  Gaza

Slowly, on delicate legs, the last mule
in Gaza, pulling a cart carrying old 
mattresses, broken chairs, and small
shrouds of children to a resting...

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when I was young, I remember hearing people say
all old people want to talk about is their bowel movements
Now that I am old
that’s all I...

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This is not my body.
Not the one that used to tell everything
to anyone—
I mean everything,
like I thought it might get me somewhere
closer to known.

I sat...

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Fading away as the days
dwindle down to a dismal few
I'm still grinning
what more can I do
my head's spinning
eyes dimming hair thinning
but if the devil's in...

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Gratitude

He is not here today, the mantle he wrapped
around his bony shoulders, when there was a chill in the air
is carelessly flung on the sofa
A zephyr...

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On Growing Older

Sometimes my steps are steady,
Sometimes my hands shake.
Sometimes my memory falters,
And I make some sad mistake.

Sometimes I hear you talking 
But I do...

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I am the voice of time —
The whisper of centuries long silenced,
And today, I thunder:
The Earth has turned. The meek now reign.

In the year 2050,
China...

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When you grow extremely old,
accept what can't be controlled.
You must think philosophically
every time you need to pee.
Years and nighttime trips?  Don't count -
too hard...

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They knelt behind a photo booth humming
hymnals to a tooth-
decayed brand of gen X truth—
old gods' wants reclaim the youth.
...

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we are all drones on the freeway today
hardly any excitement this side of the bay
then two crazy racing drivers head our way
They whip past me,...

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