Is this how it begins?
The final decline into helplessness?
This morning I had the hardest time
getting my fingers to cooperate
so I could button my shirt.
I have some cowboy shirts
without buttons. They have snaps,
but I no longer have the strength
to snap them shut.
Must I resort to wearing tee shirts?
They're not really my style.
I guess you could say
I really don't HAVE any style
anymore.
Not looking forward to life
in a retirement home.
What kind of life is that
for someone who has done
all that I have done?
From footloose and fancy-free
I'm fast becoming frantic,
feeble and full of foolishness.
Suicide is not an option for me;
I'm here for the full ride,
but if I see the Grim Reaper coming,
I will not run and hide.
Some favorite lines: 'A change, a word, and their love unwinds. They turn away, leaving me in night, Alone, in pain, without respite' (cont,)
OOPS! ! ! I erred in thinking the words 'night' & 'respite' were in THIS poem. Mea culpa***! ! [*** 'Mea culpa, which means 'through my fault' in Latin, comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church. Said by itself, it's an exclamation of apology...' ]
Dear LeeAnn, thank you for your comment, but don't bother praying for me. Pray for something worthwhile, such as world peace.
Old age, and related complications are hard realities of life.We have to face it on someday or other.You still have the cowboy spirit.I liked the last three lines.
I will pray for you Cowboy I really am thinking of death of a friend
Please, think about this, will you? Thank you for sharing such an amazing poem about 'old age' If I may say so.
Dear Sylvia, thank you for your multiple comments, but WHAT exactly am I supposed to think about? Go to the Netherlands and live in a retirement home there? (At least you could come and visit me!)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
(cont.) I'll call the night/respite pair a 'visual (by eyesight) rhyme', NOT an 'aural (by hearing) rhyme'. 'Night' & 'respite' are pronounced differently [I believe]. : ) bri
CORRECTION.......of something I, Bri, said' ...............Ron does NOT have 'night'/'respite' in his poem as I MISTAKENLY had reported. I'm sorry, Ron. I HAVEN'T YET FIGURED OUT WHO DID! ! ! : (
You are correct that those two words do NOT rhyme, but they are found nowhere in my poem, so put down that bottle and don't drink any more today!