Old Age

Somebody once said

“Old age is a brute.”

Maybe his or her experience

Went along that route.

That might be personal

And not across the board

But there are old people

I most definitely adore.

At times they can be grumpy

And sometimes a little forgetful

But that is also the case

With us “not-so-old” people.

Notice that I said us:

You might want to question that

But where does old age begin?

To me it’s not a clear-cut fact.

Maybe old age begins

Just about where youth ends,

Exactly where that is

I still can’t tell my friend.

Maybe it’s the first grey hairs

But I know that isn’t so,

Some youth have grey hairs

And why? I don’t exactly know.

When I was growing up

Old age was on reaching fifty

But having passed that age

I am now a little shifty.

It’s one hundred for sure

The nineties and eighties too

But regarding the seventies

I have a different view.

Some people in the eighties

Behave more like sixty,

They really look quite as good

And they dress attractively.

I have a friend

And she still drives quite fast,

Next year is her ninetieth

Eighty she has long passed.

I have another friend

He is almost ninety-three

And he can drive just as well

As either you or me.

Of course there are others

And their memory often fails

But I do not knock them

For that is a small detail.

They can remember

Things from way back,

It is mostly recent memory

Where they show their lack.

A caution here though:

Be careful what you sow

For what we will become

Not one of us really knows.

Sometimes we call them wicked

And stubborn like mules,

Some will even go further

And call them grumpy old fools.

But let us bless God for them

And the contribution they’ve made

For the benefits we now enjoy

Came by the way they paved.

They weren’t always old

But once they too were young

And given the work they did

They must have been very strong.

The age they were before

We are there right now,

And to make the way better for us

They had actually vowed.

So let us make it easier

And comfort them in their pain,

Even a word of encouragement

Will help to ease the strain.

And give them a helping hand

Where and whenever we can

For old age is still a blessing

From God’s almighty’s hand.

Stewart Russell © July 2018