The Middle Years Poem by Lee McGregor

Ah this jolt the wake-me-up
This harsh and honest view,
Stare into the looking glass
You sure that's really you?
The angle of the falling light
Exposing all the flaws
Of a weary wrinkly sagging state
The face that's truly yours.

I'm succumbing to this age old truth
Can't stop the push of time
I thought I could forever hide
Inside my youthful prime,
There's nothing really left to do
I may as well concede
That I'll not be an acception
Life's laws they govern me.

I'm morphing through the middle years
My youth long over now
The decades that were once ahead
Abandoned me somehow,
It all seems unbelievable
Surreal it can't be true
At least we're traveling all as one
This crazy journey through!

I'm the master of delusion
But the signs they clearly tell
Of the changes slowly swamping me
Okay, so here I go...
Eyesight failing greying
Drooping flabby here and there
Aching tooth loss memory loss
Receding of the hair,
Hard to bend and slow to heal
Much stiffer longer now
Hearing not so clearly
From the hard rock years of sound.
Short of breath can't run too far
Now opt for easy walks
Used to sing so sweetly
Now with lyrics I just talk!
Can't handle too much alcohol
Resistance has run down,
The banging head from hell?
No way best leave that well alone!

And then there are the parents
As they face their final years
The growing up of children
And the dealing with our fears,
I'm supposed to have it all worked out
To be there strong between
Too old for youth
Too young for death
A grown up self esteem.

So maybe if I've fooled them
I can dupe myself as well
Perhaps I haven't changed a bit
Let's pretend I'm twenty-one!
Forget about mortality
I am going to live so long
Relax, kick back
And drift away
And float off to the song....

Oh God there's something
Very weird now
I've morphed to ninety - three!
My hair's extinct
No teeth in place
I can barely scarcely see!
I'm stuck within this metal frame
With little wheels on
I can hardly even push the thing
Both knees have almost gone.

But then I'm finally rolling
And I've worked out where to go
I do the slo-mo shuffle
And I'm cruisn' right along!
But when at last I reach the place
Where I thought I should have been
A dose of dear dementia
Wipes the slate completely clean!

Where the blazes am I
And who the hell are you?
I'm standing in this foreign place
And I haven't got a clue!
I'm feeling pretty wobbly
As the hunger holds me tight,
Good thing I've landed
Where there's food
I think I'll take a bite.

It's sort of kind of tricky
Trying to eat with dentured teeth
Can't seem to stop the drooling
Down the chin and underneath,
Suddenly the urge to take a leak
The other too
Has gripped me so intensely
I cry out 'Where is the loo? ! '

Nobody seems to hear me
And I flail around in space
I stagger to my feet
Race to an exit at my pace,
Muscles slowly letting go
And I start to lose the plot
I'm suddenly erupting
And I lose the bloody lot!

With a startle I awaken
And I'm gasping great big breaths
I quickly do a check in
Feel both sides phew passed the test,
It was just
A vicious nightmare
Of a life that can't be mine!
I'll leave that for the oldies
For a ghastly future time.

It surely has me thinking though
The dread of what's ahead
At this point in middle years
If that's the case
I'd wish me dead!
So I guess I should be grateful
For this half way world I'm in
Make the most of what is happening now
This long strange trip I'm on!

I'm morphing through the middle years
My youth long over now
The decades that were once ahead
Abandoned me somehow,
It all seems unbelievable
Surreal it can't be true
At least we're traveling all as one
This crazy journey through!

At least we're traveling all as one
This crazy journey through,
Might take a peek inside
In case that helps me make it through....