When I started this poem I intended to examine the frustrations of growing old, losing one’s physical abilities and being left with only memories. As I wrote I realised that a far greater tragedy would be to know that you are losing those memories. I hope you like the poem;
A Lucid Moment
I never thought I'd live so long,
I didn't really plan to
I lived my life at full speed
taking risks I aught not to.
I jumped from planes
and scaled tall cliffs
I dived beneath the sea
I even stood in foreign lands
while people shot at me.
I climbed tall mountains
crossed deserts wide,
and forded rivers deep.
I hacked a path through jungles
where scary critters creep.
I loved once
with burning fire
but sickness took my heart’s desire
and I was left to live alone
with a broken heart, turned to stone.
Yes,
I planned to be a candle bright
to live life short and sweet.
but now I have the tee-shirt
life ain't half as neat.
I had a young man’s mind
In an old man’s frame
I wanted to play;
Not remember the game.
Yet now life’s dealt its cruellest blow
It stole memories formed long ago
and left me alone to sit and stare,
a frail old man
in a green armchair.
John Carré Buchanan
16 September 2015
If you click on the link below you can listen to me read this poem.
This poem is linked to Poets United.
