A Photo of Azaleas
Aging is embarrassing;
You can't remember which lover
You told which secret to,
And you suspect they know why
It wasn't them, you sent the photo of Azaleas to
And that it was yet someone else
Sampled your notorious cinnamon rolls, all those years ago.
They are everywhere and nowhere;
Memory has forgotten their wrinkle,
There is no hastily scribbled cheat sheet
Hidden up your sleeve now;
You, who've grown too old for school
And too old to remember, apparently.
In self defense, you stop bringing things up
And when others do, you scratch absently
At your arm, worry small holes
Into stretchy knit hems;
Cough, clear your throat,
Change the subject to anything,
Anything at all-
No, not that!
Daily living is become a febrile mine field
Filled with small tripping stones
Deployed deviously, to trip you up,
And sometimes, you detour so many times
In a day, an hour, that you forget
Which trail you were trying to avoid
And wind up there, by default,
Because whatever nightblind memory's left to you
Is still good at doing just that.
So that on some days, it all becomes too much,
And then you throw your arms up in the air, exasperated
And are heard to proclaim then
That you are old now, and can't be expected
To remember everything anymore.
And if smug smiles greet your words,
You can always squint,
And pretend that you can't see their faces.
Paddy you are dang cute, I want to chase you around and around, threatening to kiss you..lol
Another terrific write with dollops of humour ...I guess that we all need to practise the squint part - a handy tool for the ageing....
i was going to say something but....uh...i forgot
lolol squint lolol love your humor
I am there! You described my state of being well. I will practicing my squint! Great write, even though I hate to admit it, it's all very true to me.
This is both funny and sad to many levels. I only descended to such a level to where I could not see any more. Until I turned around not remembering in which direction I was heading. "Go into the light, my fuzzy little mind said." See what you started! I'm so looking forward to oldmanship! Very awesome write here Hetero! ... Secrets?
Weeds eh? LOL. I admit to loving Dandelion's fuzzy heads. :)
This is a classic, love the last stanza ; )
1 Lovew your poem 2. they call azaleas in OR freeway weeds they are everywhere!!
LOL, I think many of us can say in chorus "Been there, done that" I have one poem I have as a draft I've never posted called "senior moments" that goes over some of the same territory. It's deja vu all over again.