When I was fifty-five I lost weight and got into shape
Exercised to the point of near ridiculous, and looked great
My daughter said “Mom! You are buff!”
I had never been buff before
It felt terrific.
Some days I wish I was fifty-five again
I was never sick, I was super healthy
I felt great, and I was eating right
No cookies, donuts or other empty calorie foods
Not sure what happened but I have gone to pot
I think it was the cravings for chocolate and peanut butter.
I can hardly look at lettuce or celery now
Not as healthy, but comfy in my sweatpants and recliner
Categories:
fifty five, me,
Form: Free verse
Fifty-five years my how the time goes by,
Yet in an instant I can recall it all in my mind.
Memories of those times still bring tears to my eyes,
A phrase, a gesture that infectious grin.
This young Senator gave us hope and we believed and followed him.
We were so young back then,
Looking for the answers to those questions of how, why and when.
It's said that time clouds one's memory,
Only allowing us to remember and see what we want it to be.
But fifty-five years ago those of us who were the country's youth will never forget Bobby.
I often think if fate has passed him that day,
Would our country be different today.
Now he's in our memories,
The youth of today will never know the man named Bobby.
Fifty-five years ago and young Senator died,
Fifty- five years later we still seek the answers to the questions how and when but most of all why.
Categories:
fifty five, history,
Form: Rhyme
I can’t leave you alone
if you don’t let me.
Categories:
fifty five, emotions, feelings, love,
Form: Free verse
It is fifty-five degrees in Kansas City
a balmy Christmas Day
My bare feet laugh
Glad to be out of fuzzy socks
My toes tap happily against cool bricks
my dog prances beside us
My happy heels
Dancing with my excited soles
We are thrilled with fifty-five!
Categories:
fifty five, winter,
Form: Free verse
Every where we looked we seen your smile
You have left so very many of them as reminders
Reminding us to be joyful
Reminding us how much you loved us
Reminding us to be fully present
So we gathered together to comfort each other
Desperately needing to feel your presence
We wanted so badly to honour you
By honouring you
we got to see deep within ourselves
to our inner spring of emotions
We attempted to maintain composure
so that we could get our words out
An impossible task
because we felt so deeply
Tears and laughter spilled over from our hearts
refreshing our spirits
connecting us to our humanity
Through loving tears our sweetness intermingled
So we spoke of you
in quiet and boisterous tones
Remembering and celebrating you
We marvelled at the gifts you have given each of us
Other's memories were added to our own
They connected the dots of a life well shared
Your story has touched so many
Fifty five years of ripples will travel beyond that day
So as we move on you will not be forgotten
Each of us holds onto one of your smiles
That special smile that was just for us
Thank you dear Jeanette
We love you and will miss you so much.
Categories:
fifty five, blessing, cancer, celebration, character,
Form: Free verse
Artisanal casts
perfect broken legs displayed
as works in progress
Categories:
fifty five, allusion, art, dedication, health,
Form: Haiku
"Saturday is my birthday I turn 55. I'm so old"
On this blank page, I write
One blink at a time in delight
Of one woman so bright
Of one woman young at heart with no doubt
Of one woman who has been strong in her plight
She is one that leads by the light
Categories:
fifty five, dedication, for her, friend,
Form: Rhyme
"Saturday is my birthday I turn 55. I'm so old"
On this blank page, I write
One blink at a time in delight
Of one woman so bright
Of one woman young at heart with no doubt
Of one woman who has been strong in her plight
She is one that leads by the light
Categories:
fifty five, dedication, for her, friend,
Form: Rhyme
So now we sit around and stare
The truth is that there's no one there
Not a soul found on the street
A passing wave would be a treat
At fifty five
While still alive
A choice was made
And plans were laid
As seniors this was all quite new
Now open to a lucky few
A clubhouse with some gorgeous ground
Surely neighbors would be found
Day and night we'd be so busy
Activities would leave us dizzy
So finally we made the switch
Moved right in without a hitch
We then just took a casual walk
To find someone and start to talk
Yet not a soul was to be found
As we made our stroll around
And soon our hearts were full of dread
Had we found the living dead
So now we simply sit alone
Hoping to just hear the phone
So when it's time to sell your home
And find a place to settle down
Remember just to check it out
Or be the only one in town
There's more to life when you've got cash
Then see your neighbor
Take Out trash
Categories:
fifty five, angst, depression, loneliness, lonely,
Form: Rhyme
Solvent light diminishes metaphorical seconds,
wiping them with a blur–a stroke–a motion,
challenging the wings of emotion to pulse and live,
To etch and carve something in a flight of furor,
in a whirlwind haze of hapless thoughts in apropos.
A sound made in arresting touches of flesh on plastic
and in the vestige of fifty-five words per minute
I listen to the swift, cool rush of bodiless thoughts;
formed, reformed; given unto the cerulean glow,
like an offering of the internal to the exponential.
Ripped from juxtaposition and highlighted in blue,
a shadow morphs into absently coruscated fog,
crystalized in the act of inciting jubilant ruminations.
A cackle amidst a gaggle of jabbering voices,
and jovial extractions alight succulent glows of nascence.
He is born.
My twin sired with the conscious decision to smile whilst I type
and in the glow, he is pressed–animated–on the wall,
like a moving hypothesis for the enigmatic muse.
Dancing like figments in the light of imagination,
he sits as I do; enfolded in the cerulean glow that refreshes and renews.
Categories:
fifty five, computer-internet, imagination, introspection, on
Form: Free verse