Dumber and Dumber

 

 

I am becoming dumber and dumber

The older I get,

And, as a matter of fact,

I am not at my dumbest yet.

 

I have this premonition

That I will definitely get worse…

Stop thinking what you are thinking

I don't mean I am cursed.

 

For one, I am getting older,

I am nearly seven decades now

And up to this present time

I have managed somehow.

 

That to me is incredible

Given the view most people hold

But I try as much as possible

Not to carry the critics’ load.

 

Because, overload you they will,

They must jettison their stuff

And if you are not careful

They’ll make life more tough.

 

And I don’t mean acquaintances

Or even your workmates,

I mean very important others

Trying to alter your state.

  

I have resorted to dumbness

Meaning, given to much less talk

Even when regarding the issue,

I am not remotely at fault.

 

 

You actually begin to feel stupid

At not vindicating yourself

But a semblance of peace is preserved

And that maintains your health.

 

Ordinarily I would blow up

But that I have put behind,

Dumber it is that works for me,

It is easier on my mind.

 

I am becoming dumber

But not in the way you think,

I am very aware of what’s going on

And also… what I drink.

 

I am not senile or alzheimic

Just getting dumber and dumber,

It’s actually my defense mechanism

As I gracefully grow older.

 

But be warned, I am not perfect

And I don’t always get it right,

Please do not take me for granted

I still know how to fight.

 

Stewart Russell © December 15, 2021

 

Today’s View of Yesterday

 

 

Yesterday when I did it

It seemed the smart thing to do

But today on reflection

Forces me to change my view.

 

Today is a bird’s eye view

Of what transpired yesterday,

Hind sight is twenty-twenty vision

I’ve heard wise people say.

 

The ability to step outside oneself

And look in at one’s situation

Is far easier said than done

For any generation.

 

For the young as well as the old

All have fallen short of this

And in spite of the hard lessons

There’s still a mighty long list.

 

 

For we are prone to repeat

Our disappointing yesterdays

Just like history repeats itself

In so many diverse ways.

 

And the lament is often the same

“If only I had known…”

The anguished cry of many a heart,

In this I am not alone.

 

Today’s bird’s eye view of yesterday

Still falls agonizingly short

Such that I am unable to go back

And my ill behavior forever abort.

 

That is why yesterday when I did it

It had seemed a smart thing to do

But today I am feeling stupid

And you’d feel stupid too.

 

Stewart Russell © April 6, 2021