Turning Forty Poem by Hannington Mumo

They say that life begins at forty,
And since I'm still a score and six,
I shall hold myself a captive of sense,
Until all youth's fickle flaws I fix.

I'd want to hop into forty a placid teetotaler,
I target to enter forty a remorseful no-smoker;
I'd wish to hit forty a reticent revered scholar,
I aim to see forty a master of my pen and pennies.


As yet I do not fathom what my path really is,
And I shan't treat the unknown any way I please.
Only sage Maker understands what my life truly is,
And I mustn't blow it all away by a single kiss!


For now I'll glean all sense a green head may bear,
And I shall try to be candid and simple and chaste;
And fight all lethargy, and extravagance, and fear,
Compromise with bias, inanity, and atrocious taste.