01/20/2020 – My 86th Birthday

I cannot believe that I am this old
for if the truth be told
I do not feel my age today
even though can’t run or play
football like I used to do
as my body has not a clue
on how to run and jump and kick
the ball just in case I trip
preferring to keep my feet on the ground
better safe than sorry is what I have found
as balance is something that goes with age
like the body is turning a whole new page
to remind us that with the passing years
our body grows weak and our greatest fears
are the mind stays strong and not fail us today
remembering the thoughts, we need to say
in order to function in a normal life
managing ourselves with little strife
now when I try to remember a date
or a name or a place or even what I ate
I have to think so very hard
and not get discouraged and my efforts discard
as losing memory comes with old age
and in life’s book just another page
along our journey that starts when we’re born
and continues through life when we are torn
between good things and bad suffering and pain
and yet we would do it all over again
for life is sweet and comes only once
before we all turn into dust
I am eighty-six years old today
and if I could have my say
I would try to live just as long
if I could keep my body strong
and my mind stay functional all of the time
for what use is a body if the mind declines
on the other hand, when my time draws nigh
and I know that I’m going to die
let it be in a peaceful sleep
dig a hole and bury me deep
under a tree somewhere quiet and green
out in the country where I can’t be seen
and no one will know that I am there
for I will no longer care
having led my life to my very best
not knowing if I passed the test
happy instead for my time
living my life so sublime.
Written for my 86th Birthday- January 20, 2022
This is one of your best poems. Eighty-six??!! Where did those years go?
I don’t know as I can’t remember…