With apologies to Matthew Arnold
Listen! Age begets misery;
You don’t already know this stuff?
You will (if you live long enough)
Make that fierce, grim discovery.
Your knees, of course, stiffen and swell—
Fingers rigidify, won’t bend—
Sprains get ugly, refuse to mend—
And bells, once bright, strike like a knell.
Despite the blurring sound and sight,
Despite the joints’ incessant pain,
Longevity produces gain
That justifies your life-long fight.
Fleshed misery promotes some stress,
But doesn’t chill your vetted mind.
Experience reveals this find:
All history frames foolishness.
The tragedy, of course, is this
No one will listen, hear your wit,
Accept an ethos sure to fit,
And, thus, eschew all human bliss.
Perhaps, one day, the young will learn
To heed the wisdom of the old.
‘Twould save them grief—turn spirits gold—
A balm to soothe life’s blist’ring burn.
(3/19/11)