With your shopping trips more frequent, as you carry lighter loads,
And it takes you twice as long, to make your way across the roads,
Your youth and health have left you... you've gone well past your prime,
As old age draws near, you're slowing down, each journey takes more time! Struggling through infirmity, as you try to board the bus,
Holding back your anger, as the youngsters cause a fuss,
With jeers of "Come on granddad"! Their cruelty hurts your pride,
You're growing old, a fact of life, a fact you cannot hide! As you enter that timeless world, when fashion has stood still,
Of 'Trilby' hats, tweed jackets, and trousers made of twill,
You gaze into a mirror, at a wrinkled, well-worn, face,
Your good looks gone, your hair has, too, a bald spot in its place! Gripped with arthritis, bent back and aching joints,
Body tired, your eyes grow weak... your ears miss the point,
Your knowledge and skills are obsolete, your ideas never heard,
Your advice and views met with contempt, you hardly say a word! The floor seems farther away, now, as you stoop to don your socks,
Lifelong friends have gone, now, some by car and some by box,
Your children have all left you, and have families of their own,
You're all alone, no family or friends... your house is not a home! Your wife has met her maker, in that great place in the sky,
Painful memories of happier times, a tear comes to your eye,
Isolation, desperation, heartache and pain,
Struggling, existing, till you meet your wife again! Surviving on a pension, fighting off the cold,
Pushed aside, unwanted, forgotten, now you're old,
As you live out your final years, reflecting on the past,
With memories kept in a box, and teeth kept in a glass! Rock Rampant |
