That 'senior Citizen' Thing Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

That 'senior citizen' thing,
Isn't easy for many to face and address.
And...
I am not comfortable with it yet.
Not to cling onto it like it is mine.
I am not prepared to declare,
Total ownership of it.
I am told I can still 'pass' for 55.
And that's young and radiant,
When one is...
On the fringes of showing 'maturity'.

And as my aches and pains,
Make attempts to ignore a fading youth...
Slowly leaving my consciousness,
With loud professions of my obsessiveness...
I know,
Is no longer in that hip hop stage!
And has gone.
I feel time has crept upon me,
And has done me wrong.

But...
I aint crying about it.
Not in public anyway.
And if I do it is raining!
I tell people then,
How I enjoy the feeling of nature.

That 'senior citizen' thing,
Was never on my agenda when I was in my teens.
Nor did aging appear in my dreams...
When I sought ambitiously,
To waste as much time as possible.
It was not a topic of excitement.
Nor a subject to defend.
Back in those days when age was taken for granted.

And then,
Overnight...
My eyesight needed correction.
I had to wear glasses 'with' bi-focals.

My digestion needed anti-oxidents with more fiber.
And for no apparent reason,
I would stumble into buildings and trees.
Losing my balance.

That 'senior citizen' thing,
Isn't easy for many to face and address.
And...
I am not comfortable with it yet.
Not to cling onto it like it is mine.
I am not prepared to declare,
Total ownership of it.
I am told I can still 'pass' for 55.
And that's young and radiant,
When one is...
On the fringes of showing 'maturity'.
Someone...
Like myself,
For example.