Aw Shucks!

 

I wanted to tell you something

But I cannot remember what,

I guess I have reached that stage

At which one forgets a lot.

 

It shows up in my conversations

Especially on the phone

And it happens to most of my friends

So, in this I am not alone.

 

“What were we talking about?”

This a question I often ask

And believe me, however hard I try,

To remember is a task.

 

 

I leave home to run an errand,

Sometimes two or maybe three

And I end up driving around the place

As though I was on a spree.

 

Head confused and mixed-up

And traversing the wrong road

I begin to feel the stress

Like I am carrying a great load.

 

Sometimes when I settle on a plan

And I am already on my way

I would get a cellphone call

And my day goes into disarray.

 

 

Whether it is the wife

Or another family member,

It’s one more favour added to the list

That I must remember to render.

 

Words have begun to fail me

And I mean the simplest of words,

 I know what it is I want to say

But even this sounds absurd.

 

It is on the tip of my tongue

But I just can’t get it out

And often the person on the line

Doesn’t know what it is all about.

 

I am now forgetting names too:

“Don’t tell me; I know your name.”

But eventually, I have to give that up

And ask the person’s name again.

 

 

Not to mention misplacing things:

I do that quite a lot,

Although I try to put a plan in place

It’s often a useless prop.

 

You may smile and laugh

Because you are nowhere there yet,

But when your time comes, if it does,

I hope you don’t get vex.

 

It is the vagaries of old age

With its dementia and senility,

You just have to come to grips with it

And forget how it used to be.

 

 

Aw shucks! I forgot!

I had something more to say…

But never you mind, I am through,

Perhaps we can try another day.

 

Stewart Russell © August 20, 2020