Aging Poems

I'M STILL HERE

My looks are nothing special,
My face reveals my age,
My body shows some wear and tear,
And my energy's not the same.

Too often my memory fails me,
And I lose things all the time.
One minute I know what I plan to do,
And the next it may just slip my mind.

I try hard to avoid my mirror.
There are things I would rather not see,
And even those times when I just catch a glimpse,
I can no longer recognize me.

The things I used to do with ease
Can now cause aches and pains,
And the quality of the things I do
Will never be quite the same.

I always compare my older self
To those younger versions of me,
And I know I'm wasting too much time
Missing who I used to be.

But the thing that really makes me sad
Is despite what people see,
Underneath my tattered, worn out shell,
I'm still the same old me.

My heart can still feel endless love,
And at times it still can ache.
My heart can fill with so much joy,
And then it can suddenly break.

My soul can still feel sympathy
And longs for forgiveness and peace,
And there are times its light shines boldly through,
And times when it longs for release.

It's true, maybe now that I'm older,
Feeling lonely may be status quo,
But it also has made me more willing
To forgive and let past conflicts go.

So maybe to some I look ugly and old,
A person who barely exists.
I'm still quite aware of the beauty inside,
And my value should not be dismissed.

So although not as strong and no beauty, it's true,
I'm still here and want so much to live,
And I know that there's no one in this world quite like me,
And no one who has more to give.

Purple veins strain against the skin.
Pale, translucent, paper thin.
Skinny fingers clawed in monstrous shapes,
Brown spots from years that she can't erase.

Now wrinkled and fragile, weak and sore,
So many things she can't do anymore.
Some days she feels she's been betrayed
By the cruelty of her advancing age.

She rubs her hands to ease the ache
And recalls the life they helped to make.
She looks at them and feels the loss,
Living a life bears a very high cost.

These hands that held her children near,
That gently dried their salty tears.
Hands that held her husband's tight,
That never let go against the fight.

Miraculous hands that protected and soothed.
Hands, they conveyed her every mood.
Hands so strong they could carry the weight,
That would never give up and never forsake.

Those hands that took little but always gave,
Hands that applauded each achievement made.
Those soft, sweet hands that gently cared,
For those sick or lost in dark despair.

Hands that fussed and fumbled that day
Her husband gave their daughter away.
Those hands holding tight as he slowly died,
Caressing his brow as she stood by his side.

Hands that rocked her grandson to sleep,
That gladly took over when others grew weak.
Hands that once held everyone that she loved,
And prayed for strength to our God above.

Hands that were always so willing to give,
Hands that reveal a life fully lived.
Small, feeble hands, now empty and cold,
These hands that each day will keep growing old.

These hands she now tends to hide away,
These hands that at times make her feel ashamed.
Grotesque and useless in her eyes,
They rest in her lap as she quietly cries.

But I see the hands of a hero so true,
A woman who survived what this life put her through.
A woman whose heart still shimmers like gold,
With the hands of a warrior who made her mark on this world.

When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don’t think I need your chattering.
I’m listening to myself.
Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!
Understanding if you got it,
Otherwise I’ll do without it!
When my bones are stiff and aching,
And my feet won’t climb the stair,
I will only ask one favor:
Don’t bring me no rocking chair.
When you see me walking, stumbling,
Don’t study and get it wrong.
‘Cause tired don’t mean lazy
And every goodbye ain’t gone.
I’m the same person I was back then,
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.

Here I lie in bed again, Awaiting my next meal.
A worker barges in my room, As if it's no big deal.

What ever happened to courtesy? Just a little knock.
Do you think I'm just a vegetable, Laying here like a rock?

What ever happened to manners? I haven't got a clue.

BUT KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I know I can not talk, Or even joke around.
But I'm well aware of everything, and also every sound.

If you have another worker help, change me during rounds.
Please don't talk about me, as if I'm not around.

Treat me with respect, the same I'd give to you.

KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

My bones are stiff and achy, I hear you say I'm contracted.
My belly hurts, I haven't pooped, I hope I'm not impacted.

I'm sorry I may drool, and at times I even stare.
It's not easy being old, aging isn't fair.

These are the cards God dealt me, There's nothing I can do.

JUST KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I used to be a lively one, just like your pretty self.
I traveled, married, and worked long hours until I lost my health.

I press my light to see a face, Or just for company.
For someone just to look inside, and realize that I'm ME.

You walked past my light, what am I to do?

PLEASE REMEMBER I'M A PERSON TOO.

I'm sorry that I messed the bed, I feel like such a baby.
I'm so embarrassed, and ashamed, that I'm doing this at eighty.

I'm sorry I couldn't hold it, I didn't know what to do.

KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I wish that I was able, to communicate some way.
So finally I'd get the chance, to say what I want to say.

I hear you talk with other patients, so please don't walk away.
If everyone showed a little compassion, I wouldn't feel this way.

My name is Helen, and I'm all alone.
Cancer took my husband, he had it in his bones.

We had one child, our precious son.
Until his life was taken by a gun.

So here I am, no family left, as loneliness weighs heavy on my chest.

I may be sad, I may be blue.

PLEASE REMEMBER I'M A PERSON TOO.

Next time my light is on, come and see if I'm OK.
I'm a retired nurse of thirty years, and would love to hear about your day.

Said the little boy, sometimes I drop my spoon.
Said the little old man, I do that too.
The little boy whispered, I wet my pants.
I do too, laughed the old man.
Said the little boy, I often cry.
The old man nodded. So do I.
But worst of all, said the boy,
it seems grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
I know what you mean, said the little old man.

I see the sadness in your eyes,
The times that you are knowing
What's happening to your wondrous mind,
The symptoms you are showing.

It was so hard to recognize
When they started coming through.
The little things that changed you
From the person that I knew.

The doctor's confirmation
Was so hard to accept,
To know that little could be done,
That there's no cure as of yet.

Forgive me, dear, if sometimes
I give in to my frustrations.
It's just so overwhelming,
This change in our relations.

Now I'm the one to be on guard,
To keep you safe from harm,
Protecting you the best I can
And not showing my alarm.

I hope you still can understand
How much you mean to me.
Though you curse me or forget me,
I'll accept what has to be.

For I will still remember
The joys that we once shared.
You showed me in so many ways
How very much you cared.

I pray to God to give me strength
To do what must be done,
To trust that in the future
This battle will be won.

Many, many years ago
When I was just a kid,
And I had just began to grow,
There's stuff I had and did.

I'm thinking back on all those things
That life saw fit to give me.
If I can't remember everything,
I hope you will forgive me.

Chocolate candy cigarettes
And big bubble gum cigars.
Mini Bricks and Red Ball Jets,
Hopscotch and Dinky cars.

Mercurochrome and iodine;
Band-aids in a can.
Your watch required a daily wind,
And Etch-A-Sketch was grand.

In school, the teacher had to see
Just what you had to do.
You held one finger up for pee;
You held up two for poo!

Marbles, Slinkys, Lincoln Logs,
Ker Plunk and Pick Up Sticks,
With Yo-yos, you could "walk the dog,"
And ice cream came in bricks.

Arrows all had suction cups
And guns had rolls of caps.
Paddle Balls and Tonka Trucks
Big red lips were wax,

Bumps on heads, being black and blue,
Was minor when compared to
Being sick with cold or flu!
Have fun? You're not prepared to!

Measles, mumps, and chicken pox
Always seemed to flare.
They opened up Pandora's Box
And caught us unaware!

With medicine and care from mom,
Our time in bed was cut!
But I can't remember anyone
Allergic to a nut!

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys
And also Brothers Grimm.
But Mark Twain was my pride and joy!
I never could resist him!

Hide and seek and tag were there.
New energy we found!
No more teacher scorns to bear
When summer came around.

PF Flyer running shoes,
Steel roller skates had keys.
There were phone booths we could use
If there's emergencies.

Rolling down a grassy hill
In parks was a delight.
Nicky Nine Doors was a thrill,
But only played at night!

We rode our bikes with playing cards
Flapping on our spokes.
We played in all our friends' backyards
And told our "Knock Knock" jokes.

Climbing fences, climbing trees
Were common things to do.
Getting bruised or skinning knees?
That was nothing new!

Two wheel scooters, kiddy cars,
We had Soap Box Rallies.
Baseball teams and monkey bars
And close by bowling alleys.

In winter, there were snowball fights
And snow forts for protection.
And when a bitter wind would bite,
Few kids raised objection!

Speeding down a snowy slope
On sleds and blown up tires.
"Is it too steep?" We all said, "Nope!"
We wanted to go higher!

In our teens were Levi jeans,
Duck and pony tails.
Sock hops were a common scene
Where dancing would prevail.

Bobby socks and poodle skirts
And continental slacks.
White buck shoes and fancy shirts,
Guitars and wailing sax!

Computers? What on Earth were they?!
Well, they would show up later.
And none I knew could dare display
Cell phones or calculators!

Many things I've mentioned here
Are still with us today.
But lots of kids, it does appear,
Ignore this great buffet!

What happened to the world I knew?
Have kids today stopped growing?
If time machines were really true,
I know where I'd be going!

Dick, Jane, Spot and Puff
Are nothing now but jokes.
But maybe I have said enough,
So I'll say, "That's all folks!"

She's trapped inside the prison walls
That used to be her mind.
The woman that she used to be,
Has long been left behind.

There are times she's quite alert,
Her memory's still intact.
Then there are days when she disappears,
And we know it's not an act.

No longer able to care for herself,
We couldn't leave her alone.
Her safety had to be assured,
So we placed her in a home.

Good days are when we visit her,
And she calls us by our name.
She's grateful for the company,
And thankful that we came.

Most of the time it's difficult,
To see our Mom that way.
All we can do is love her now,
As we take life day by day.

One day my dad was hunting, from his favorite hunting stand;
'Twas a giant Oak with perfect limbs, under which two deer trails ran.
Now this favorite spot of Daddy's was as unique as it could be,
'cause a lightning bolt had burned a giant hole down through that tree.

As he double checked his deer tags, as he did quite frequently,
he accidently dropped his wallet down the hole in that old tree.
Well, his family hunted from that tree ever since they'd been around,
And there was no way on God's green earth he'd ever cut it down.

That Oak tree was my "learning stool" as dad was teaching me,
and most of what I learned 'bout deer was right there in that tree.
And I finally took my own first buck, right there from that old stand;
with Daddy sitting next to me to calm my nervous hands.

"I've taught you everything I know," Dad proudly said to me;
"Someday we'll bring my grandson here, and teach him in this tree".
Well, I laughed and poked him on the arm; hell, I was just a kid,
But Daddy made me feel real good, somehow he always did.

Well, we shared some twenty seasons, and we watched some good bucks grow,
But unlike that mighty old Oak tree, on my dad those seasons showed.
Soon he'd grown too old to really hunt, still he'd sit with me in that stand,
and it was my turn to hold and steady the shaking in Daddy's hands.

Then he died at the end of that season, ten years too soon to see
The grandson that he'd dreamed about get to hunt from that old tree.
And now it's opening morning, on my son's first whitetail hunt;
I'm sitting beside him in "Grandpa's Tree" 'cause we both knew that's what he would want.

Now I'd seen this scene from both sides of that limb, and it happened exactly the same;
we heard one coming, I steadied his hands, and here that old buck came.
He handled it just perfect; his Grandpa would've been proud,
I shook his hand and wiped a tear and looked up at the clouds.

Then we hung his deer right from our stand, and I took a Polaroid shot;
And I wanted so badly for Daddy to see the buck that his grandson got.
Then as I watched that picture develop in my hands,
I felt a breeze and heard a gentle rustling near that stand.

Then a little stronger gust of wind whipped the picture from my hand
and carried it briskly into that tree, above the old deer stand.

Well, my son said he'd go get it, but I told him "never mind."
We'd take a few more later, but let's leave that one behind.
'Cause he could've looked forever, but I knew where it would be,
Tucked safely in Dad's wallet, down the hole in that old tree.

Those things that meant the most to me
Are no longer in my life.
And those people most important
Have vanished now from sight.

Future hopes and longing dreams
Simply don't exist.
And that person who I used to be
Is someone I sadly miss.

Memories of my former life
Leave my heart in pain
And remind me of reality
And that everything must change.

This world can be so fickle.
One day you fade from all their minds.
You're not needed or acknowledged;
They just leave you far behind.

I've struggled through some desperate times,
Through raging storms and seas.
My life has been an uphill climb.
I didn't make it here with ease.

Old age has been a state I've earned.
It's a feat that I've survived.
I made mistakes but learned from them,
And I say that now with pride.

So where are my gold medals?
My name up there in lights?
I was not the smartest or the prettiest,
But I fought a darn good fight!

Where is all the grand applause
And shouts of "Way to go!"?
Where are all the kudos
That I feel that I am owed?

Then I will sing my praises,
Give myself a big high five!
You fought the fight quite valiantly,
And you're still well and quite alive.

You are someone with a heart of gold
And a soul that's kept its light.
You have loved and lost and sacrificed.
You weren't perfect, but you tried.

And I proclaim to all aged folks
Who have lived beyond four score,
You are truly Golden Heroes,
And may you survive a hundred more!

In a dusty, dark corner of a very old house,
sits the tall, wooden worn out clock.
It has seen its share of memories and pain,
keeping perfect time with a tick and a tock.

From weddings to funerals, losses and gains,
sorrows and days filled with fun.
What once was brand new, through the passing of days,
has wrinkled and faded by sun.

With busy days past, the clock sits at its post
as it has done for years before.
The breezes from the front door, infrequent at best,
cease moving across the wood floor.

Tired now from its lifetime of work
watching over the house, was this clock.
As the sun now sets on another arduous day,
the peaceful clock gives its last tick and last tock.

I have waited quite a long time to get old,
So I think I should try to enjoy it.
I can't turn it in for a refund,
And I surely don't want to destroy it.

They tell me that life is a one-way street,
As if I am too dumb to know.
I might as well keep moving on forward.
There's not much choice where to go.

I would like to lighten the luggage
I've accumulated over the years.
I'd be smart to release all the memories
That brought about heartache and tears.

That would make living much better,
Free up space that then could be filled
With appreciation for the good things in life,
With the promise that then I could build

A future that lives for the moment,
With little concern for the past.
My time will be filled with contentment,
No matter how long it will last.

So now that I'm ready for the rest of the trip,
I foresee no problems ahead.
I'll make each day be a worthwhile event,
With no regrets for the life I have led.

My eyes are fine; they are just printing words small.
I just use a walking stick to seem stately and tall.

Nothing is wrong with my sense of smell.
My ears are fine if you don't whisper but yell.

The wrinkles are just laugh lines; they will go away.
It is fashion that has turned my hair from black to grey.

It's the cold, not age that is stiffening my knees.
I like to hum as I walk; it's not a wheeze.

What extra kilos? My scale is broken down.
If I try, I can still fit into my wedding gown.

My bones don't creak; my shoes are new.
My memory is sharp. Oh, do I know you?

I remember the times
You'd flip me onto your shoulder
Freefalling skyward
Taller, older

I felt like a giant
At that great height
And felt no fear
Just sheer delight

Safe in your hands
So sure and strong
Now they're gone
It feels all wrong

No more do I fly
And reach the stars
No more do I soar
That path of ours

Up and beyond
Your own great length
Above your heart
Upon your strength

Where always you kept
Me and us all
Where you could watch us
That we'd never fall

And always you'd work
Day after day
To give us a life
We'd love each day

And though you'd grump
And gripe and groan
You'd flash a smile
At coming home

Where we would sit
And eat home food
Sing to songs
That sang of blues

Like stories you'd tell
Of your young days
And how the world
Has changed its ways

You'd reminisce
Of your own dad
The happy times
That you two had

I'd smile and think
Of you and I
And him and you
And ache to cry

For as I knew
You'd lost your own
I knew that you'd
Leave me alone

I could only hope
And wish and pray
That each day
Would not be that day

So each night that
We'd sit and talk
I'd try to capture
Every thought

And every smile
Every laugh
In my mind
Like photographs

Now I replay
Your greatest hits
From our hours together
Our best bits

These are the memories
I now love
In my heart as your picture
In my glove

And swear that until
The day I go too
I'll never forget
And I'll always love you.