Another year, another birthday
Posted: April 6, 2017 Filed under: andrea neidle, autobiography, life, memories, poems, Poetry, thoughts | Tags: 70s, age, ageing, baby boomers, birthday, getting older, growing old, happy birthday, how it feels to reach 70, life, Macca, memories, Mick Jagger, old age, reaching 70, reflections, senior citizen, thoughts Leave a commentThink my posting this poem is going to become an annual event!
I can remember in my teens longing to be 21. And now I wish that time could go backwards and I could be 21 again!
Another year, another birthday
Something happens
Between 69 and 70
You become a senior
and all of a sudden
you don’t recognise
that person in the mirror
and on the scales.
You shuffle in your slippers
read the papers
and pop pills.
The receptionist
at the doctor’s
knows your name.
Complete strangers
call you my darling
and my dear.
You want to be offered seats
on trains
And flat shoes seem
a better option
than high heels.
You are now
a silver surfer
so you search for
senior bargains online
There must be some perk
to reaching this age.
Hotels offer you
twin beds
and disabled bathrooms.
11 o’clock at night
seems very late to be out
and you find yourself
wanting to nap
in the middle of the day.
Your children ask how you are
but don’t really want to know
and people say you look well
when they mean
you are looking good for your age.
You have become invisible
to the opposite sex
and to anyone
under forty.
People talk about “special” birthdays
and give you soppy smiles.
You wish you were
growing old disgracefully
but just don’t have the energy.
Come upstairs and make love to me
I read somewhere.
I can do one or the other
was the answer
Don’t expect me to do both.
I’ve started listening to the Archers
and the weather forecasts
Doing crosswords
and reading the obituaries
Seeing the names of
people I once knew
Thank goodness Mick Jagger
can still strut his stuff
and Macca too
still performing
whilst others the same age
languish in care homes
uncared for and forgotten.
It’s odd to think
that in ten years or so
I will look back at this time
And think myself young.
Age 20
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
Things to do before it’s too late
Posted: May 3, 2015 Filed under: andrea neidle, autobiography, life, memories, poems, Poetry | Tags: extreme sports, getting older, life, lists, making a list, things not done, things to do, Things to do before it's too late, thoughts, to do list 1 CommentTO DO
Should I dye my hair red
and paint my toenails blue
I need to make a to do list
There’s still such a lot to do
I’ve never abseiled
Or inter-railed
Or paddled a canoe
I need to make a to do list
There’s still such a lot to do
I’ve never walked a tightrope
Or even stood on my head
I’ve never danced the tango
Or water skied on the Med
I’ve never had a piercing
Not even a tattoo
I need to make a to do list
There’s such a lot to do
I’ve never bungeed from a plane
Or captained a yacht crew
I need to make a to do list
There’s such a lot to do
And what about a menage a trois
A cougar I could be
Or better still an early night
watching a DVD
I think I will go back to bed
and have a cup of tea.
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
Another birthday
Posted: April 5, 2015 Filed under: andrea neidle, autobiography, life, memories, poems, Poetry | Tags: 60s, age, ageing, another birthday, baby boomers, birthday, getting older, growing old, happy birthday, how it feels to reach 60, life, Macca, Mick Jagger, old age, reflections, senior citizen, seniors, thoughts 3 CommentsMy birthday seems to have come round even quicker this year! I wrote this poem a while ago. I’m sure it will resonate with some of you. And if it doesn’t – it might give you a glimpse of what you have to look forward to!
Another birthday
Something happens
Between 59 and 60.
You become a senior
and all of a sudden
you don’t recognise
that person in the mirror
and on the scales.
You shuffle in your slippers
read the papers
and pop pills.
The receptionist
at the doctor’s
knows your name.
Complete strangers
call you my darling
and my dear.
You want to be offered seats
on trains
And flat shoes seem
a better option
than high heels.
You are now
a silver surfer
so you search for
senior bargains online
There must be some perk
to reaching this age.
Hotels offer you
twin beds
and disabled bathrooms.
11 o’clock at night
seems very late to be out
and you find yourself
wanting to nap
in the middle of the day.
Your children ask how you are
but don’t really want to know
and people say you look well
when they mean
you are looking good for your age.
You have become invisible
to the opposite sex
and to anyone
under forty.
People talk about “special” birthdays
and give you soppy smiles.
You wish you were
growing old disgracefully
but just don’t have the energy.
Come upstairs and make love to me
I read somewhere.
“I can do one or the other”
was the answer
“Don’t expect me to do both”.
I’ve started listening to the Archers
and the weather forecasts
Doing crosswords
and reading the obituaries
Seeing the names of
people I once knew
Thank goodness Mick Jagger
can still strut his stuff
and Macca too
still performing
whilst others the same age
languish in care homes
uncared for and forgotten.
It’s odd to think
that in ten years or so
I will look back at this time
And think myself young.
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
Happy birthday
Posted: April 7, 2012 Filed under: andrea neidle, autobiography, poems, Poetry | Tags: 60s, age, ageing, baby boomers, birthday, getting older, growing old, happy birthday, how it feels to reach 60, life, Macca, Mick Jagger, old age, reflections, senior citizen, thoughts 4 CommentsAnother birthday
Something happens
Between 59 and 60.
You become a senior
and all of a sudden
you don’t recognise
that person in the mirror
and on the scales.
You shuffle in your slippers
read the papers
and pop pills.
The receptionist
at the doctor’s
knows your name.
Complete strangers
call you my darling
and my dear.
You want to be offered seats
on trains
And flat shoes seem
a better option
than high heels.
You are now
a silver surfer
so you search for
senior bargains online
There must be some perk
to reaching this age.
Hotels offer you
twin beds
and disabled bathrooms.
11 o’clock at night
seems very late to be out
and you find yourself
wanting to nap
in the middle of the day.
Your children ask how you are
but don’t really want to know
and people say you look well
when they mean
you are looking good for your age.
You have become invisible
to the opposite sex
and to anyone
under forty.
People talk about “special” birthdays
and give you soppy smiles.
You wish you were
growing old disgracefully
but just don’t have the energy.
Come upstairs and make love to me
I read somewhere.
I can do one or the other
was the answer
Don’t expect me to do both.
I’ve started listening to the Archers
and the weather forecasts
Doing crosswords
and reading the obituaries
Seeing the names of
people I once knew
Thank goodness Mick Jagger
can still strut his stuff
and Macca too
still performing
whilst others the same age
languish in care homes
uncared for and forgotten.
It’s odd to think
that in ten years or so
I will look back at this time
And think myself young.
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
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