The classic names of nursing homes
make me want to puke and groan
How about 'Celestial Gardens?'
great place to dump your 'burden'
Then there's 'Sunset Terrace'
at sundown, for embalming they prepare us
Good old 'Live the Moment,' of course
where they put octogenarians in the workforce
Not to forget sparkling 'Milky Way'
careful what they put in your 'tay'
Yet there is a certain appeal to a fancy-name place
~ if you delight in the extinction of the human race
Categories:
octogenarians, care, identity, image, satire,
Form: Couplet
Youth, having deserted them long ago, Tom and Sam
The octogenarians together formed an intimate league.
Every day, they would, meet at the country park in the evenings.
A ritual, they had religiously followed and enjoyed much.
One day Tom didn’t show up and Sam conjectured, he was unwell.
Sam felt anxious but suppressed his commotion inside.
As time moved on, Sam slowly grew reconciled to the fact,
That he had lost a bosom friend whom he would never again see.
But one day when Tom suddenly made his appearance at the park,
Sam asked what had happened to him, Tom replied calmly- “I had been in jail.” “Jail – What in the world for”?? Sam couldn’t hide his shock n’ wonder. Tom asked, “Don’t you remember the little waitress at the coffee shop?”
“Once having grown a little amorous, I had flirted with her for a little while,
But she filed a rape charge against me! At eighty-nine, I felt so proud,
That when I got into the court, I pleaded guilty, and that damn judge,
Gave me 30 days of imprisonment…. for…… PERJURY”!
Categories:
octogenarians, abuse, cheer up, missing,
Form: Free verse
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
And a new earth
Isaiah 65:17
Isaiah describes a new creation of universal happiness
Example food and good health for all
His words seem a stark contrast to our usual headlines
Is this wishful thinking?
Not really
Isaiah envisions a future not yet fully realized
A future in-process
Jesus shared Isaiah’s vision
He called it the kingdom of God
Jesus came to make this vision a reality
Not merely by curing physical illnesses
But curing selfishness
Pride
Greed
Hatred
What’s more
Jesus said this kingdom is already in our midst
We get glimpses of it if we look closely
Strangers
Selfless parents
Devoted nurses
Dedicated Educators
Smiling Octogenarians
Caring neighbors
Teenage volunteers
Generous donors
Families welcoming newborns
And much more
Sr. Melannie Svoboda S.N.D.
Turned to Poetry: Jac R. M.
Poetry Form: Free Verse
Categories:
octogenarians, christian, creation, god, jesus,
Form: Free verse
Hate begets hate,
Fatality it’s sure fate,
The belly of the sated,
Churned by hatred,
The lame marching in defiance,
Gossips in one alliance,
The mute raise their voices in harmony,
As partakers in the ceremony,
Eavesdropping was the pastime of the deaf,
Whistling amused the children with lip and palate cleft,
The blind bystanders look in awe,
Stunned by the things they saw,
Acid bath victim ignored by the law,
Hides behind layers of make up in an effort to conceal her flaw,
Nuns soliciting on the avenues,
Parading as women of easy virtue,
Best friends maintain strangle holds on each other’s throats,
While arch enemies raise glasses to toast,
Sterile men make a show of their genitalia,
Putting post menopausal octogenarians in lustful hysteria,
Making boast of their sexual prowess while puffed up with self importance,
Despite their impotence.
Categories:
octogenarians, fantasy, imagery, imagination,
Form: Prose Poetry
When I was a boy of three,
My sister much older than me
Raced me to the teen-age stage
Where we seemed about the same age.
We knew that folks of thirty
Were way over the hill
And their greatest thrill
Was to sit back and relax
While teen-agers furnished them facts.
But when we reached thirty,
Filled with awe, we foresaw,
That thirty was grace to behold,
And knew in our soul
Folks of fifty were hopelessly old!
But in our fifties we grabbed what we said,
And pushed “old age” way up ahead.
And at sixty we did the same.
Age was just a game not to disclaim.
In our seventies we slowed just a bit
But were still not ready to quit.
And now as octogenarians,
We breeze through museums and aquariums.
With many things to learn
While we have energy still to burn.
So youngsters don’t fret,
Old, we ain’t—not yet!
Categories:
octogenarians, life,
Form: Quatrain