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How Septuagenarian’s Cope
Past seventy. Age does prevail.
__The day is growing dim.
I’ve managed through life’s calms and gales—
I still can trapse through woodland trails
__And workout at a gym.
Past seventy. Age does assail.
__Our grandkids prove time zooms!
Their one-track minds never derail:
Just tell them “No” and hear them wail—
__Worse than a sonic boom!
Past seventy. Where’s the handrail?
__I’m ready to collapse.
After the grandkid’s roaring gale,
It’s time to chug some Golden Ale
__and then a p.m. nap.
.
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Dona Nobis Pacem
—Latin, grant us your peace
Sailing on a sunset cruise at Key West.
__Grant us your peace.
Watching Pelicans skimming over crests.
__Grant us your peace.
Two moms in deck chairs, drinks cooling their breasts.
__Grant us your peace.
. . .
The news: a shooting. Furious protests.
__Grant us your peace.
A mob of men riot. Countless arrests.
__Grant us your peace.
Click the remote. Go tour in Budapest.
__Grant us your peace.
Change to a Black Stork rising from her nest.
__Grant us your peace.
Switch to climbers freezing on Everest.
__Grant us your peace.
Thumb off. Ponder what to buy and divest.
__Grant us your peace.
. . .
A stabbing pain shoots on the left-side chest.
__Grant us your peace.
The cardiac doc does an ECG test.
__Grant us your peace.
“It’s a heart valve disease. A year, at best. ”
__Grant us your peace.
That night, lightning flashed from east to the west.
__Grant us your peace.
.
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Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets.
Dona Nobis Pacem really hits home, roving all over the world and highlighting different news stories before focusing on the MC and putting his personal situation into perspective. The refrain to a higher authority works well, making the poem universal and keeping any reader invested.
How Septuagenarian’s Cope was fun, though it has a serious side with phrases like ‘Where’s the handrail?’ It sounds largely autobiographical. I hope the latter poem not so.
Thanks for the reads, Peter.
How to cope after 70? Reflect on years gone by, both good and bad, then attempt to put it into meaningful poetry.
Both age related poems seem to come from a personal experience or connection that gives them authenticity and greater meaning.
Nothing like a good p.m. nap, Peter, even if you’re not quite seventy.
Two beautifully crafted poems. What appealed to me was the inclusion of life’s harsh realities in bits and pieces throughout both poems. “How Septuagenarian’s Cope” hits hard, especially the “handrail” part, and the “afternoon nap” brought me a smile. Thank you for these poems, Mr. Venable.
Peter, as a Septuagenarian, I can identify with your wonderful, observational poetry today. I have recently joined a gym. I get the feeling that it may have been a bad decision. When I bend to pick something up, my wife always says, “Can you find something else to do while you’re down there.” I love Evan’s image which I will now aspire to be like.
Thanks for a great read today.