Tag Archives: aging

Retirement Home

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 I’m going to build a solid house,
 Good bones to frame it straight and true
 Upon which fasten seasoned boards
 The outside elements to subdue.
  
 It shan’t be graced with gingerbread
 that merely mildews in the rain,
 or gargoyles leering overhead 
 evincing darkness and disdain.
  
 A simple plan as fits my taste,
 I aim to please no one but me.
 One needn’t look for blemishes.
 I’ll know they’re there; I’ll let them be. 
  
 My house will stand the tests of time
 Clean lines that age but loathe to stray,
 With understated grace and strength
 to see me through my final days.

Today’s dVerse poetry prompt, as posed by sarahsouthwest: “I’d like you to look back over the last year and choose a poem that calls to you, and write a response to that.”

I chose a poem by Elizabeth Crawford Yates, a local poet who published in the 1950s. Her poem, “To a Time-Grayed House,” struck me in that she ascribes the aging process with “dread and wistfulness.” As I celebrate my 60th year on this planet, I don’t dread growing old nor do I pine for those long-lost days of youth. I do want to age gracefully though, and maintain my health as best I can. And so, the poem above was my response to this:

 TO A TIME-GRAYED HOUSE
  
 Though you may stare with dread and wistfulness
 At youthful cottage and its sleek white dress,
 Remember this. Too soon, that one may be
 A peeling thing, with shaken masonry. 
  
 Elizabeth Crawford Yates
 from her book Wind Carvings (copyright 1953)

Checking In

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Day Four of NaPoWriMo.

And now for today’s (optional) prompt, inspired by Teicher’s poem “Son“. One thing you might notice about this poem is that it is sad, but that it doesn’t generate that feeling through particularly emotional words. The words are very simple. Another thing you might notice is that it’s a sonnet – not in strict iambic pentameter, but fourteen rhymed, relatively short lines.

Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own sad poem, but one that, like Teicher’s, achieves sadness through simplicity. Playing with the sonnet form may help you – its very compactness can compel you to be straightforward, using plain, small words.

My post from yesterday was sad enough, but okay. In sonnet form, here goes:

mirror 1500

Checking In

I don’t recall the last time we had dined
with just the two of us away from home.
I guess we’d never found ourselves inclined
to try relating one-on-one alone.

Conversation did not come easily,
but not for lack of words that need be said.
In short, your failing ears could not hear me.
Nonetheless you’d smile and nod your head.

A gentleman you’ve been for all your years,
your empty wallet drawn to pay the bill.
You needn’t pay, Dad, now that you live here.
I bussed the table once you’d had your fill.

A nurse came by and took you by the sleeve.
It’s best, she said, that you not see me leave.

Also posting for V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #42: farewells

bouquet

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bouquet

someday
I will be old

and the shadows my long life casts
will reflect the youth and vibrancy
that once coursed through
the vessels of my soul

and though withered
and drained of color
and grown brittle with time and wear

there will still be a beauty
to the shape and form
grown from many years of
life lessons rained upon me
and the energizing warmth
of unwavering love shown to me

and I will stand proud and content
but mostly thankful
as I face the sun
until it sets

The Daily Post daily prompt: Someday

Weekend Coffee Share 12/18/16

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#WeekendCoffeeShare is graciously hosted by Diana at ParttimeMonsterBlog.com. 

161218

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I’m feeling lazy this morning. Not that that’s unusual for me, but today I feel like embracing the laziness instead of berating myself about all the things I “should” be doing, or “have to” get done.

Okay, maybe I should go grocery shopping. With my kitchen torn up from my remodeling project, I’ve been mostly dining on frozen meals that I nuke in the microwave and foods that don’t need much preparation (like PB & Js). Since the freezer is bare except for ice, it’s time to restock.

With all my DIY home projects, I’ve been telling myself it’s okay if my “improvements” fall short of candidacy for a House Beautiful photo shoot. The house is pretty old after all, and – as a former rental house – wasn’t cared for with much pride in ownership. So if my rebuilt cupboards aren’t totally straight and level, it’s no big deal. It’s not the end result that’s important, it’s the fun of the challenge. Or so I tell myself as I survey the lopsided end result.

But I realized the other day that the house is only six years older than I am. That’s not so old… is it?

Speaking of old:

Last week I received my first “senior discount” at the local Walgreen’s store. I wasn’t offended. My first thought was that surely I’m too young for that and – in all fairness — I should decline the discount. My second thought was, “Discount? Heck, yeah!”

Perhaps the fact that I was wearing my sweatshirt inside out gave the impression of age-related dotage. What can I say? Sometimes I like to wear it that way.

Anyway, the sun is up now and it’s getting on in the morning. Basking in laziness can only last so long before the “should”s and “have to”s take over. it’s time for my PB & J breakfast. Then maybe I’ll watch a few episodes of “This Old House,” so I can plot some more DIY projects.

And if there’s a program out there called “This Old Person,” I refuse to watch it. Unless, of course, there are discounts involved.

Frame of Mind

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state2

 

aging… change… inevitable.
cracks, moss, peeling paint…

we could fill the cracks, kill the moss,
slap on a fresh coat of paint…
and pretend it’s new again.

state1

 

we could let it succumb…
to deteriorate into a heap of
rotted wood and crumbled stone…
and pretend it’s dead,
even though it’s not.

state4

 

we could let it age with dignity,
maintaining – as best we can –
the structural foundation,
while letting the history of
weathered storms, myriad encounters,
passing years…

tell it’s stories with grace, honesty and pride –
even if for nothing other than the fact that
it is still standing.

My vote is for dignity.

state3

Photos taken at the historic Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks in Vancouver, WA USA. Established in the 1840s as Camp Vancouver, this American military post remained active for more than 150 years.

Daily Post weekly photo challenge: State of Mind