Living the Aging Life

Queen Elizabeth is dead.

King Charles is on the throne.

We savor England’s royalty

‘cause we have none of our own.

We could use a Royal Family

to sparkle up our news…

some folks we’d all tsk-tsk about,

who’d gripe us and amuse.

The Uvalde children haunt me.

I can hear their muffled cry.

“Mama?  There’s a shooter….

Mama?  Will I die?”

The news is what’s NOT happening.

The trains WON’T go on strike.

Commerce WILL keep flowing.

Our prices MIGHT NOT hike.

Charles ascended to the throne.

He’s well prepared.  He’s ready.

In a world that’s filled with turbulence,

let’s pray his reign is steady.

What is today if not tomorrow?

A little more joy?  A little more sorrow?

And, after all, what’s yesterday?

Each is only a day away.

The spiders think my bathtub

 is a place for them to hide.

Alas for them…they’ll soon find out

they were better off outside.

Extreme old age is a fragile place.

You don’t expect to get there.

But, when you do, you look around, and,

you don’t know what to do there.

There are some who do….

and, some who don’t.

There are some who will…

and, some who won’t.

There are some who help…

and, some who watch.

And, a few push trouble

up a notch.

I’m all at sea.

I cannot tell

if the future’s bright…

or we’re going to Hell.

It’s been twenty one years since the towers went down.

It’s been twenty one years of regret.

It’s been twenty one years.  We stayed glued to TV….

and we’re really not over it yet.

Duty and service.

Civility.  Grace.

And, for the public,

there’s a smiling face.