What does it mean to
"grow old gracefully"?
And, do I have to?
Dad sort of did (I think)
But I remember him
advising - repeatedly -
"Don't grow old. It's bad business."
So now with that script
running in my head, I resist
"What is"
Things I can't do any more
(too frustrating to list here)
Things wrong with my body
(too depressing to list here)
Loved ones and friends dead
(too many to list here)
Kerouac said
"That nothin' means nothin' is
the saddest thing I know"
I wrote this poem in hopes
of carthartic release
but now I'm lower than before
and that mystical state of gracefulness
seems further away than ever
seems an impossible task
seems . . . inauthentic
I know what to do:
Tap into my Welch roots and
"rage, rage against
the dying of the light"
Now...what does it mean to "rage"?
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"rage, rage against
ReplyDeletethe dying of the light"...love dylan thomas' villanelle...and just recently read a quote on aging i fell in love with...
"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
Mark Twain
but tapping into the Welch roots could work as well..smiles
"Grow old along with me!
ReplyDeleteThe best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made"
You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Rage or grace, grace or rage. Forgive me if I chuckle a little bit, but you're right, both expressions need defining. I suppose each person will do so in their own way, figuring it out as they go (life just keeps us all a little off balance).
ReplyDeletehaha...rage on! squeeze every moment as if it were a grape...fine wine indeed...old aint bad unless you let your wine become vinegar...
ReplyDeleteso many questions and no answers (I feel the rage too at times.)
ReplyDeleteI say modify.. while I may not be able to jump over that fence any more, I damn sure can ease my way over..
ReplyDeleteLoved this poem!!
lynne
thewordbar.wordpress.com
I like to think I have matured with age.
ReplyDeletechained the present
What an awesome ending! It's like you're all dressed up and no where to go! Wow I really liked that! And in answer to your question, what is it to rage against the dying light? It's that, exactly, what you just did with this poem...... I don't even think about the things i can't do anymore..... It seems like thinking itself is very slowly joining the list......
ReplyDelete