In our younger days we met for dinner;
Now it’s mainly lunch.
We needn’t rush; since we’re retired,
Time slots we don’t crunch.
We pack up meals we’ve ordered,
For we’ve barely eaten half
And when waiters ask, “Dessert or wine?”
We shake our heads and laugh.
We stop a stranger, asking if
He’ll snap our photo please.
He sees four senior citizens
So he, of course, agrees.
But what he cannot understand
(No reason that he should)
Is that, though we look old to him,
There is the likelihood
That we’ve lived through so many things
He’s only read about
And though he’ll have his own adventures,
There is little doubt
That we add up to so much more
Than what his pix reveal –
Four smiling alte kakers*
Clutching what’s left of our meal.
*a Yiddish expression meaning old farts
It was on the property of a center for senior citizens.
Not sure, but cedar, oak, or magnolia it could have been.
A tree was planted on the grounds of aged ones.
"Christen this tree", was the request that came to me.
The tree was an infant; I was zealous and young.
50 years is a very long time.
Occasionally, that tree crosses my mind.
Someday, I must determind to visit that tree.
O God, I pray that she will still be there;
That she's being given tenderness and care.
Is she getting enough water to drink?
Is she strong and tall or weak and small?
Someday, I say, that I shall plan to see.
I remember praying that she would grow and thrive, not merely exist and survive; That she would assist in keeping aged ones alive;
That birds would love her and on her strong Limbs build their nests. That under her shadows, many would come to rest.
Has she grown beautiful leaves, releasing them in Fall?
Does her golden leaves arrest and capture the
Attention of them all?
Senior citizens getting afraid
as it's true and also well said.
All of them are just carrying AIDS.
Off and on, are using Band AIDS.
Many of them use Hearing AIDS.
Each to accept Medical AIDS
Even some receive Organ AIDS
Children send Monetary AIDS.
Vulnerable to HIV
While senior citizen might be..
Fact, though may be astonishing.
What to do ! Hair Is Vanishing.
HIV : Abbreviation !
Oblivious - not to mention.
So, is it good or bad?
Excessive is sad!
For Senior Citizens or Tiny-Tots
The emotions are lots!
To be happy and controlled
One must let the thoughts be paroled
By the sweet and peaceful joy;
Pure thankfulness with no alloy.
Nostalgic gratitude is seeing the "gold,"
Letting fantasy go can make one bold.
So focus on all the positive,
Not letting time's fire be a sieve
But just let it purify.
Add appreciation, even if you cry,
The tears are of healing Love
And help us look Above.
Smile and let Nostalgia carry away stress
Burdens and regrets of today's mess!
'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the land
Billionaires gathered to give Trump a hand
They were there to see what programs to cut
Leaving the poor in a much deeper rut
The Rocket man Musk with funds to divert
now had the title of efficiency expert
Senior citizens worried that they'd be erased
While Musk took their SS checks to outer space
The would be Secretary of Defense loves his booze
In case we were attacked
he'd be asleep at the switch, taking a snooze
Dreaming of vodka and another six pack
The Department of health would get rid of vaccines
and childhood diseases would pick the kids clean
The man set to be in charge is a former heroine addict
Seems he'd like needles, but he sets the script
These days, the most sought out advanced degree
In Extreme Higher Education is in Plagiarism.
A student can also minor in Overt Racism,
Sexism, Misogyny, Stupidity, and Bigotry.
Help wanted signs will be posted in January,
On every freaking corners in Washington D.C.;
Muslims, Mexicans, Syrians and minorities'
Applications will not be accepted. Senior citizens
Can apply unless they voted in the last two elections.
The reason for the change in rules and policies
Is to NOT 'Make America Great Again'.
Only Europeans and Aryans can apply for political asylum.
The Statue of Liberty will be returned to Marine Le Pen.
More pamphlets will be distributed at the next symposium.
Copyright © November 12,2016 Logerie Hébert, All Rights Reserved
Hebert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.
Jealousy in senior citizens
Is an ugly thing
It’s childish, it’s petty,
It has a negative ring
For elderly women, make no mistake
In certain surroundings
There’s quite an outbreak
And don’t they look silly
With their petulant smiles
As they pose and they preen
Like noxious reptiles!
The venom they spew, why, it’s unladylike
Overheard was this gentleman:
“Girl, take a hike!”
We don’t want you around,
Say the popular guys
But they simply can’t help it
They draw them like flies
So here is a warning, a word to the wise
If old ladies don’t watch it
They may recognize
That they haven’t a clue
How to compete for the prize.
Let them be jealous, let them talk trash
They only look foolish
But they’re due for a crash
‘Cause nobody likes them
We think they’re absurd
Their ugliest nature
Is more than inferred
Drop the act, ladies, give it a rest
The men are all saying
You’re the worst kind of pest
We have thought, in our hearts and minds, that our senior citizens are,
Meant for riding kids each day for each hour in their little toy car;
We feel that we feed them to ride our kids farthest or very far,
To reach them back like sky stars with no physical or psychic scar;
Father or mother... uncle or aunty... who can in this art par,
Are candidates selected to go to heaven with no age bar....!
02 December 2022
BiteSize Poem no56 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
I have not been on a plane since 2019
That was some three months before COVID-19.
The 2019 trip was one of the worst of my flights.
However, although uncomfortable, it was planned.
But I prefer to tell you about our unplanned flight.
In 2016, my wife and I boldly decided to fly one way.
The flight back would be 'up for grabs'; go with the flow.
One way, Sacramento to Chicago by plane. Not a problem.
Chicago to Jackson, Ms. by train. Longer time. No problem.
One way ticket from Jackson back to Sacramento. Problem!
Our affordable and preferred carrier did not operate in Jackson.
So, we rented a car that turned out to be a truck and drove to Memphis.
Out of Memphis, we boarded our flight with three stops to Sacramento.
Are you tracking me so far? Can you see the 'venture flight' unfolding?
Jackson to Memphis by ground; Memphis to Houston; Houston to Portland;
Portland to Sacramento. Some 879 additional miles of unplanned
travel, but two senior citizens who boldly went with the flow were home at last.
071822PSCtest, Flight three Poetry, Chantelle Anne Cooke. 3P
The Universe of Neighborhoods
David J Walker
At this point
All thoughts of the future are laughable
As we gather and laugh a lot as affable
Senior citizens everyone
The glory days are long gone
but relived
Wednesday afternoons
at the tavern
where the beer is cold and the
old men bold
retelling
The old jokes as if they were new
(In low voices of course, times have changed you know)
To the many who are gone
we raise our mugs
In remembrance
And drink to them
whom we loved
To those girls and boys from the same
Universe neighborhood noise
of a low rent
Inner city society all its own
Where we atone for our sins but
Still grin as we toast our beers
and remember them
I visited the Doctor today,
For the result of my husband's tests.
I was concerned about him
And wished him all the best
I had brought some blank paper,
And a couple of biro pens,
Lately, I've been thinking,
I may never write again.
My muse is disappearing,
Waving me goodbye,
I understand this,
And here's the reason why.
I have abused my muse,
In many different ways
Often I don't listen,
And my muse slinks away.
He thinks I am too old,
To comprehend.
Also, senior citizens,
Drive muses around the bend,
My husband stood before me,
Smiling happily,
I looked down at my paper,
And shouted out with glee,
I don't remember writing this
I wonder who that can be!
The sky is blue,
The grass is green
Give me a reason why
People are mean.
Wherever there’s a couple,
There’s a feud.
In front of children,
That’s an example of rude.
It hurts the worst
during socializing
Such words can
be very destabilizing
When was peace and harmony
against the law?
Seems like everything settling
Tis nothing but a flaw.
Who can we call
when trouble is afoot?
Even cops nowadays
don’t play by the book.
Mentally and physically,
kids smoking “weed”.
Whether that’s candy or cardboard,
that’s how they feed
Young adults and senior citizens,
playing the fools.
What examples are they,
When they disobey their own rules?
Butch and I saw the Stones at the 1969 Altamont Concert.
We had the time of our lives! We dropped acid and
did Quaaludes and snorted whatever was offered.
We were young and bullet proof that day.
We're senior citizens now but still rock.
We scored tickets to the Stones latest.
It was the time of our lives! We took
extra long naps and got ready.
Tie died house dress for me, and
Butch wore his leathers.
He complained that they rode up
in the back. I said lose weight.
We ate at our favorite joint
and got the early bird special.
We shared a glass of wine.
We can't mix our meds with booze.
On the drive to the stadium we
shared a medicinal joint for
our glaucoma. We parked in
handicapped and got our walkers.
We shuffled to the entrance and
Butch grabbed my ass. My man!
We got our seats and waited.
Mick Jagger shuffled onstage.
He had an oxygen tank but
seemed OK. The other Stones
followed and the crowd screamed
the best they could. A rattling gasp.
They performed 6 songs and said
that's all they had. Thanks for coming...
We took a Xanax to calm down
and shuffled home and dreamed.
This virus is many things:
an invisible asp playing hide-and-seek
a genie riding the wind with great ease
a magician emptying streets of loco sapiens.
Replacing them with wild-wild things.
A comedian turning senior citizens
into bandits, gangsters and thieves.
A political scythe slicing opposition necks.
This virus is the billow of the hearth of hell
coaxing verse from seeds of death
without precedence or prejudice.
Treating everybody equally.
Like a mini- Martin Luther King.
DESOLATION IN DESPONDENCE
Me jovial convivial social being
always cherishing cheery dynamism in every step,
now global crisis putting in compulsive isolation.
House confinement subject to social distancing running mandatory.
Standstill static stagnant situation creating suffocation.
But what to do, no alternative.
I must cope up to fight against invader virulent virus Corona
spreading silhouette of sudden scare in sky of global life,
endangering mass of populace.
Home imprisonment tough,
but tougher to manage household cores
for Indian Senior citizens dependent on domestic help.
Wishful expectation to start Count Down
to end Lock Down at earliest
to get relief on revival of normal life.
04/03/20
'STRAND POETRY PICK 1' Contest by Brian Strand
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