Nobody # 781 - Slouching towards 75

Sunday, August 23, 2009
Nobody # 781

Nobody Asked Me But:

SLOUCHING TOWARDS SEVENTY-FIVE

On Nearing My Fiftieth Birthday

No one ever told me I'd be fifty,
I always thought I'd stop at forty-nine.
No one ever told me I'd be fifty,
If they had, they wouldn't be a friend of mine.


Sixty-five

Sixty-five is just a number,
That is plain to see,
And I am not at all quite sure
How it pertains to me.

I'm sixty-five today, you say.
“You cad! Get out the door!”
My body, mind and spirit feel
No more than sixty-four.

Actually that's not wholly true,
My body feels the pain
Of aging joints and pressure points
In places quite arcane.

But in others not the slightest sense
Of slowing down is there.
I'm good as new, well, almost true,
But close enough to swear - a guarantee.

A day with me
Can be a special time.
We'll talk and laugh and even cry
As thoughts and feelings rhyme.

So sixty-five, what do I care
As long as most things work.
Between me and you, they really do,
And that's an added perk.

Because you see at sixty-five
I thought I'd be well done,
But I'm still rare, still on a tear,
Still having lots of fun.


Seventy-five

I wrote a rhyme at 50
And again at 65,
Now it’s ten years later
And on most days still I thrive.

I’m up by six each morning,
My get up’s good to go,
My brain says pain’s the price of gain,
My body says “Oh no!”

But please don’t think this birthday is
My signal just to quit,
I will fight with all my might
To keep my body fit.

Every week, at least three times,
I head off to the gym
To watch and cheer the lovely ones
Trying to stay trim.

I haven’t slowed the slightest bit,
I still feel fit and able,
I never miss my daily sprint
When dinner’s on the table.

On most days you will find me
In the backyard pulling weeds,
Well, maybe on not most days
When once a year is all it needs.

I’m still a sunny person,
My days are filled with joy,
The man in me remains, you see,
Tempered by the boy.

I will not stop at seventy-five
When so much more I need,
If need to you self-serving seems
Go ahead and call it greed.

Greedy may be sinful
But I don’t believe in sin,
If you’re keeping score I want ten more,
And then ten more again.