I thought this poem by Maya Angelou rather amusing.
When I was
in my younger days,
I weighed
a few pounds less,
I needn’t
hold my tummy in
To wear a
belted dress.
But now that
I am older,
I’ve set
my body free;
There’s
the comfort of elastic
Where once
my waist would be.
Inventor of
those high-heeled shoes
My feet
have not forgiven;
I have to
wear a nine now,
But used
to wear a seven.
And how
about those pantyhose –
They’re
sized by weight, you see,
So how
come when I put them on
The crotch
is at my knee?
I need to
wear these glasses
As the
print’s been getting smaller;
And it
wasn’t very long ago
I know
that I was taller.
Though my
hair has turned to gray
And my
skin no longer fits,
On the
inside, I’m the same old me,
It’s the outside’s changed a bit.
I would add that policemen and doctors are impossibly young, little more than school children, bottle tops are screwed on improbably tightly, pounds and kilos weigh twice as much as they used to, and distances have stretched.
Growing older is such fun!
My kitchen counters get higher each year.
ReplyDelete. . . and the shelves . . .
DeleteWe have to go with the flow and make the best of it.
ReplyDelete. . . and not climb on chairs!
DeleteThank you for sharing this. It is one of my favorite Maya Angelou poems. Always brings a smile, as it did today :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fun, ins't it?
Delete*isn't*
Deleteahhh yes...
ReplyDeletethough my hair has turned to grey and my skin no longer fits :( Of all the issues you raised, the wrinkles are the worst, the least hideable.
Of course, some go for cosmetic surgery, but that wipes out all the character and looks very plastic.
DeleteI wonder how tall I am now., how much I've shrunk. I am bound to have lost some height.
ReplyDeleteI know I have, but I don't know how tall/short I am now.
DeleteBUT, as my father used to say, consider the alternative ....
ReplyDeleteOf course. It could be a whole lot worse, or just not be at all . . .
DeleteI was much shocked to discover that I have lost an inch and a half this year! Not at the waist which would have been thrilling, but in height!
ReplyDeleteIt's always in the wrong places, isn't it? Spit!
DeleteOMG! This is wonderful and it's ME. Yup. I've switched to wearing elastic wasted pants and shorts. LOL!
ReplyDeleteSo much more comfortable, but such a shock if you have to wear something fitted occasionally.
DeleteThank you for posting this. I liked it so much, I posted it to my sister-in-law and several teacher friends.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteOh those bottle tops! Whenever I buy bottles of anything now I ask the salesperson to please loosen that cap for me. Great poem!
ReplyDeleteI've got a bottle opening device which usually does the trick.
DeleteSo funny and so true
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
We have to laugh . . .😂🤣
DeleteWhile those panty hose and high heels are not an issue for me, the rest are. One of our major supermarkets has the tops of milk plastic so tight, I need to use a tea towel to get enough grip to open it, or ask one of my lads.
ReplyDeleteUse the strength of the lads - they've got plenty to spare!
DeleteYes, yes, yes and yes.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Tee hee!
DeleteI often think our bus drives don't look old enough to be behind the wheel, I love this poem it describes ageing so well.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell people's ages any more, unless they're under 10.
DeleteAbsolutely true ! except my feet and I didn't shrink ! lol
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteYour last sentence says it all. As I get down on my hands and knees to brush the cat and then have to figure out how to get up.
ReplyDelete. . . and Precious looks at you and wonders what you're worrying about.
DeleteMaya Angelou (1928-2014) was a wise woman who knew a lot about life but also knew how to have fun - not taking herself too seriously.
ReplyDeleteVery true. Too many people are too serious too much of the time . . . . and that's too many toos!
DeleteAdd extra ts and it becomes "toot-toot-toot" like a miniature railway.
Deleteditto for me, every thing mentioned in the poem and all of your comment. 80 and still shrinking, last year I found I could not wipe the top of the cabinets, my reach has shrunk by 4 inches in the 40 years I have wiped them. I gave up panty hose 25 years ago. but I do love in Florida. I wore pants to work and used knee highs or longer skirts
ReplyDeleteI took to trousers and flat shoes quite early.
DeleteMaya Angelou is one of my favorite . Her poems and insights are delightful. This one included.
ReplyDeleteShe was a treasure.
DeleteYou've actually featured one of my favorite bits of writing from Maya Angelou. The older I get the more I appreciate the truth of it.
ReplyDeleteDon't fight it - embrace it
DeleteMen don't go bald. The hair just grows on your ears and out of your nose.
ReplyDeleteSo true!
ReplyDeleteMy feet refused to wear high heels even in my teens, and my weight has been up and down a few times over the years... One of the few advantages of now approaching 70 is that I don't let it bother me as much any more! ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt was good when we bade farewell to those stressful days of our youth when we felt we had to suck in our stomachs!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that - I laughed out loud several time while reading through. xx
ReplyDeleteLaughter is necessary and so good for us!
DeleteThank you for the laughs, Janice, although there is definitely more than just an hint of truth in that poem.
ReplyDeleteI've never been good with bottle tops, though :-) xxx
I've played the piano throughout my life and thought my hands should remain quite strong - I thought wrong!
DeleteAge catches up with each of us. Either you laugh or you cry. Sometimes I need to do both. But at least one of these were way before I was a senior -I never did like high heels, even when I was younger I preferred flats.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your feet thank you for being sensibly shod throughout their life!
DeleteI love this - thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
DeleteI needed this attitude today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt does us all good to know we're not alone in our 'tribulations'!
DeleteI'd not come across this poem before ... and I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteCertainly describes the ageing process well.
All the best Jan
It's something most of us probably thought would never apply personally!
DeleteIn my mind I'm still somewhere between 30 and 40 years old. My physical body points out my delusional thinking every day.
ReplyDeleteSo long as the brain is still young, there's hope!
Delete