When I Am Old

Senior lawyer/poet Richard M. “Rick” Georges has been ruminating a lot about death and dying lately. This poem is the result.

When I am old,
I will bark at the stars in heaven.
I will buy a new car,
with sleek lines,
and race between the cinder blocks
lining the street in front of the house.

When I am old,
I will miss the grasping youth,
who held her with a passion,
and kissed soft lips
and rounded hips,
and never knew
what he had.

When I am old,
I will rise from the chair carefully,
so as not to break a bone,
or strain a muscle,
that once was strong and firm.

When I am old,
I will think about the lost days,
spent worrying about things
that never came to pass,
and about the time I wasted
wanting to change the past.

When I am old,
I will spend more time
putting on my socks,
and taking my medications,
and crying over lost love.
I will wonder how many more days
I have until I won’t be old anymore.
When I am old,
I will write poems
about love and loss.
I will remember when they were
living memories,
and not dying thoughts.

When I am old,
I will wish that I had stayed young forever.

Copyright ©2023 Richard M. Georges

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard M. “Rick” Georges is a solo law practitioner in St. Petersburg and a published poet. He has authored the “FutureLawyer” column in various publications, has taught law office management and computer-assisted legal research at the college and law school level and has taught poetry at the college level. His book Life is Simple, Really — Poems about Life, Loving, Fun, and Family, reflects his belief that those things are more important than anything we do in our professional lives. Read his blog.