PROMISES, PROMISES….

I know. I’m the one who promised not to talk about OLD AGE anymore. And, suddenly, I am swamped with tantalizing emails describing new and environmentally-sound ways to dispose of my corpse that will use up most of the money I have allotted for my children’s future if I choose to take advantage of them. I am simultaneously fascinated and turned off, but the exigencies of the past year (my post-pneumonia era) have definitely had an effect on my psyche, adding a bit of morbidness to my sense of humor as I scramble to come to terms with unexpected life changes. One night I tossed and turned and woke up cursing my elaborate imagination that had me shaking in my bed with a combination of crippling neurological diseases, nursing numerous cancers that I rationalized were sent to teach me courage and fortitude, and a deep voice announcing with authority that I would never travel to Asia, again, even if I were given a free upgrade. This was surely the curse of old age, and I needed to deal with it once and for all. I threw hot water on my face and ran to my computer. Be done with this once and for all, I shivered. This is not the way I choose to go. Below is what spilled out as I searched for an answer to my woes.

I found my answer and wrote it down and now, as I take my daily walk through the heavenly landscape of the Langley Woodmen Cemetery, I revel in the beauty of trees and flowers, and open my heart and soul to whatever the future has in store.

                                          STILL GROWING OLD

Growing old is so much fun, my heart is overflowing!
Add problems with the eyes, and soon, you don’t know where you’re going….
The hearing aids were simple, but the mac-degeneration
Assures you that from now on in you’ll fight for liberation.

Glasses that were never needed now adorn my shelves;
For reading, intermediate, and distance…tell the elves
To stand alert and help this lady, sad and broken-hearted,
And give her hope it won’t get worse, but stop where it has started!

You take a tiny pill at dawn, which empties out the water
And keeps the lungs resilient, so you walk and never falter,
Except you soon are running to placate a nervous bladder
That if you don’t attend, will make your life unkempt and sadder.

But wait, let’s not forget the heart, so central to our health;
It pumps along, forestalling many dangers by its stealth,
Still…our present-day en-viron-ment is often far too much—
Its smoke, its toxins, fats—if we don’t heed it, it will crush

The strongest, so don‘t wait too long, acknowledge danger signs
That do affect our heart and, thus, longevity defines,
Until we step up to the plate and institute some change
Our noble heart cannot, alone, a longer life arrange.

It now is 10 AM, the time I settle down to work;
I know, why not give up, are you an optimistic jerk?
You bet I am, or death by dig-ni-ty would have my ear,
For I would live my life wrapped up in worry, doubt, and fear.

So let’s just see what fun diseases, maladies, adventures
The powers that be can send me, only, please, dear Lord, not dentures!
My mind is open, try your new experiments and pills
Can they upstage the days of yore, its mystery and its thrills?

I try to look at what’s around the corner with a smile,
‘though no more treks, I still know nature’s beauty can beguile;
And just for fun let’s find an oddball, quirky kind of hobby
With humorous results like standing naked in the lobby.

As long as brain is paired with an astute imagination,
You know that life is good, the train has yet to leave the station;
So bless your friends and loved ones as you face each coming day,
And when, at last, that train departs, you’ll know it’s AOK.