TURNING EIGHTY

When I turned 80 I cut my hair
13 inches was all I could spare.
I lost my hearing, got hearing aids
Love handles appeared but I’m
Still the same weight.
Although I am skinny,
my body has ripples,
Krinkles all bumpy,
and misplaced dimples.

I’d like to go back to the fifties some day
Get a shiny red Buick and drive away.
Of course I’d take my honey, Ed.
We’d travel the world, sleep in foreign beds.

Barcelona is calling, England too
But how do I get there, I don’t have a clue?
I walk in a room and forget why I’m there.
I can’t remember what or where.

When I climb the stairs in our happy Home I can’t reach the top without grunts and groans.
I count 14 steps coming and going.
So if I fall I’ll land
like an angel floating.

But I’m still here so heaven can wait
and if anyone asks, “yes, I still paint”.

Janet Brice Parker
2025