I see myself becoming old. <br />My closet is full of suits I don’t wear anymore. <br />Nothing I need to wear them for. <br />There are days when I stay in my pajamas till noon. <br />I think of my heirs looking at my wardrobe one day <br />asking “Can you think of anyone who can use these <br />or should we give them to Goodwill? ” <br />Or, “Would you like this tie as a remembrance of your Dad? ” <br />As I read the obits of the recently deceased, <br />which I took to doing a few years ago, <br />I compare their ages to mine. <br /> <br />Then there’s the arthritis in the hands and feet. <br />My left foot aches when I walk <br />and I suffered a rupture in a time-worn tendon not long ago. <br />I have more trouble lifting things and getting around. <br />I don’t jump over puddles anymore <br />for fear of the damage I might do coming down. <br />(No more kicking up heels for me.) <br /> <br />What will it be next? <br />There are the incipient cataracts, <br />and my hearing isn’t what it used to be. <br />I don’t think I need a hearing aid yet, <br />though my daughter disagrees. <br />Or will it be something unforeseen <br />like that ill-fated tendon?<br /><br />Richard Greene<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-see-myself-becoming-old/
