There is a knocking on the gate
Is this the Someone I await
I keep expecting Him to call
The time has flown, tis after fall !
The leaves are gone, impatient they
It seems they too have missed the day
Perhaps another took my place
It’s not such youth I shall embrace.
Oh tell me Sir, why am I here
Unlike the young, I have no fear
But You and I have much to share
Because I know You really care !
Oh Santa Claus, dear Santa Claus
I’m writing to you just because
Christmas is coming round the bend
It’s time to share it with a friend
Though not so simple as it seems
As Christmas nears it fosters dreams.
It is a season to feel young
With Yuletide carols to be sung
It would be nice if we’d return
To days when candles would be burned
When children small were told the tales
Of magic sleighs that had no sails.
The reindeer were believed to fly
Across the reaches of the sky
But let’s pretend a moment more
That elves may work in Santa’s store
It’s true I’ve never seen an elf
Except ceramic on a shelf.
Well never mind, this too shall pass
Like Alice through her looking glass
Until next year, same time, same place
Anticipating your embrace
I pray I’m not too old by then
Forgetting our remember when !
ISN’T IT WONDERFUL TO SEE WITH THE HEART OF A CHILD ?
Of late the days all seem to fly
As leaves of time keep flashing by
There is so little I can grasp
I need a halt to take a gasp.
Sometimes I’m deaf and sometimes blind
I’m never sure what I shall find
How can my life just melt away
Without my having any say ?
I trust You Lord and know You care
That in my pain You will be there !
We shall not run out of values at stake
That is an action that we will not take
For the facts are what this is all about
Either spoken gently or with a shout,
Only time can tell as each day rolls on
There is this thought that we depend upon.
When the winter’s young and the cold is new
We own the courage to make this come true
That as we age and experience mounts
There is the moment when true wisdom counts.
You may do your best making fools of all,
But who will stand at last clarion’s call ?
There was a tree that I had seen
Quite lush and large and oh so green
When I was young and not so tall
The tree had barely grown at all.
I’ve watched it age through all the years
Some good, some bad, some full of fears
But always spreading out each limb
As if in thanks offered to Him.
The tree is old, well I am too
If truth be told, we’ve shared a view
Times are long past, we’ve had our day
So like that tree nought left to say !
I now have dreamt a thousand dreams
Not one of them came true
For they were naught but crazy schemes
And foolishness we knew.
Our dreams are meant to give us hope
Perhaps a brand new chance
No matter what the age or scope
Reprise is our last dance !
I can’t foretell the story of what each life may hold
Because all are different, some timid, some are bold
We’re sure throughout the years that truth is bound to unfold
Pray we’ll accept this message before we are too old !
The fog slips in and hugs the ground
The air is still there’s ne’er a sound
I feel the damp inside my bones
My feet can’t grasp the slipp’ry stones.
I sense the chill invade my space
Oh how I need escape this place,
Before my mind grows dim and old
And all I’ve known wanes dread and cold !
To Edward Pavlovich, an old friend who painted
my portrait in 1951, I remember you ! Thanks !
The walls about familiar be
They are a comfort here to me
The air I breathe is full of scents
And gathers round as my defense.
I find the years have winnowed down
The items I now keep around
Perhaps with time we all abuse
The many things we fail to use.
Some dear old friends remain intact
A cherished book that’s eared exact
A box of photos on the shelf
Mementos of my younger self.
Whoever thought I’d live so long
I would declare that they were wrong
Four score and five is time enough
To gather tons of extra stuff !
I can see fireflies they’re all aglow
It’s curtain time for their magic show
Soon the stars up high begin to light
They flicker and dance and shimmer bright.
When I was small and not yet grown tall
I’d play outside by the garden wall
To catch them buzz and flitter about
Quite a happy sight without a doubt.
As I have aged my memory brings
Pictures that pull upon old heartstrings
It’s too late now to remember when
No one can ever go back again !
To those days that were and are no more
With youth and beauty flown out the door
To leave us dreaming what used to be
When times were young and our lives carefree.
Oh to relive those elusive days
Where we thrived on love and hope and praise
Since all’s now past, chances diminished
The road is done, we’re almost finished !
When I was young and meek and mild
I knew the manners of a child
But as I grew and aged a bit
My ways improved I learned to fit.
It seems to me that age must share
Abilities of love and care
Yet caution all to patience earn
As one by one each takes a turn !
The maladies of age are such
They rend us tender to the touch
How difficult our days become
This is not some great prize we’ve won.
Perhaps tis just we’re wearing out
Old bones begin to creak and shout
As like some aged trees we sight
We hold the dampness of the night.
The cold repelling off our skin
Is like a thief who slithers in
It seems the comfort age requires
Comes with the warmth of old hearth fires !
The morn arrives both bright and new
With fragile hope soon overdue
The day awakes midst tender light
Seems we’ve just bid the world goodnight.
How fleet the time does pass us by
As youth to age will quickly fly
We barely touch what might been
Then wander off into the wind !
I thought I was alone last night
The sky was still the moon so bright
A fragile silence filled the air
Almost as though someone were there !
Deep in the shadows of my room
I shivered in the subtle gloom
And whispered softly in my prayers
When all else fails I know God cares !
Now as I close my eyes with ease
To slowly sink upon my knees
I’m not quite sure how I shall rise
But when I do tis God’s surprise!
Can’t find the words to speak of things
Like cats and dogs or queens and kings
Toy sailboats on a bathtub sea,
Or old old friends like you and me.
The words get lost along the way
And syllables have gone astray
As hopes and dreams that we’ve forgot
Are memories that linger not.
The slow process of growing old
When hands and feet and hearts turn cold
Are but the facts we need embrace
Before life’s end and time’s last race !
I’d love to skip down to the sea
With salty air caressing me
The shifting sands under my feet
Were soft and warm and wet and sweet !
There was a day when I could run
Along that beach under the sun
Though age and time have had their price
Reclaiming youth would be quite nice !
It’s hard to keep my balance now
I try and try and wonder how
If there’s a way I might restore
My strength to where it was before !
But you and I are realists
We know these acts do not exist
And as our lives are winding down
Let no one dare embrace a frown !
I feel bereft and left alone
My limbs are heavy, made of stone
My strength is gone, I’m lost in space
My mind seems weary, out of pace.
I won’t contend with simple things
I know not what tomorrow brings
I’ve floundered for the umpteenth time
I’m sure my life’s long past it’s prime.
But I will rise above this strife
I need no piper, drum and fife
I often think I’ve lived too long
I’ve had my chance, I’ve sung my song.
The time has come to turn the page
Let other players take the stage
To finish all the plans life made
That they may find their accolade.
As I scurry about my daily plan
Rapidly rushing as fast as I can
A miraculous thing for one so old
It’s a job to warm my bones in the cold.
And if you don’t think that’s a chore itself
With a grunt and a groan, reach for a shelf
When your body’s progressed to this late stage
Folks give you a seat because of your age.
I laugh when I think that’s where I am at
I recall the days when men tipped their hat
Now they raise their hand ’til you cross the way
And wish you a greeting, ” Have a safe day ! ”
Whoever thought that I’d wind up like this
Just an old lady surviving with bliss?
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Claire V. Bogdanos 