Not when I started to show it
not when I’d lost a step or two
Not when my memory would lapse
not when my waistline grew
Not when others began to snicker
not when my bladder started to flicker
Not when I had more hair on my hands than on my head
not when I’d get sick and wish I were dead
Not when all these things happened to me
did I ever attribute them to age
Teachers told me I’d grow wiser with each passing year
Hmm. I must have already passed that phase
Time… to pass… the baton
to a younger man
You’ve lost a step
a step or two, gone
Time… to pass… the baton
to loosen your grip
to put down that whip
Time… marches on
Time… to pass… the baton
there’s a new road to run
a better path you’re on
Time… to pass… the baton
I’ve lost it!
Not sure what it is
Yet I’ve been told
I’ve lost it.
It started with a step.
“he seems to have lost a step”
“a bit off his feed”.
I checked the staircase
All the steps are there
The fridge is full
I think they’ve lost it
I’m not telling them.
If I find it
I’m not giving it back.
I’ll just pick it up
In one of those
Tiny green bags.
John G. Lawless
©4/11/2023
I used to ride from dark to dark
For wages that were thin
Then saunter up to Shorty's bar
And he'd say."Where you been?"
I'd drink a lot and tell some lies
'Til I got drunk of course
When I ran out of cold hard cash
They'd put me on my horse
Then one day my hair turned silver
I lost a step or two
I thought about how much I'd learned
Surprised how much I knew
I hung up my spurs, coiled my rope
Threw my hat in the ring
Got elected to our congress
It was a wondrous thing
I think of Shorty now and then
And I still tell some lies
But I get paid for doin' that -
Nice to be old and wise
6-8-19
Contest:A Contest on Aging
Sponsor:Emile Pinet
I've lost a step or two, or maybe three
My memory isn't what is used to be
It takes me forever to get going these days
Sometimes I forget what it is I want to say
I ask young people 'What?' again and again
My fingers tremble slightly when I hold a pen
I can't seem to find things that are right in front of me
I get up three or four times a night to pee
I don't look forward to happy occasions anymore
It's frankly all I can do to keep from looking bored
They say that the 70's and 80's are the 'golden years'
But they seem more like the unveiling of one's deepest fears
COMPANION
Countless hours, time no concern
Side by side, how much we’ve learned
Through ups and downs and thick or thin
We march together, new tales to spin
No longer a canter, your gait without pep
Rumors mills churning
Have you lost a step?
Senses diminished, speckles of white
Onward we push, onward we fight
Betrayal of age, the cycle of life
Sauntering quietly, causing much strife
Our hearts melded solid, our thoughts are as one
Losing the battle but war has been won
Not always together, at times on our own
Filling days with dreams we have grown
Dreams of nirvana, dreams of gold
Dreams spent together
Never get old
Someday I know our paths must part
Furry fellow dear to my heart
One knows a place where dreams come true
Side by side, just me and you
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