Know What?
I don’t want to
never, ever, ever
grow old.
Not after what I’ve seen.
We went to visit
Grandma and Grandpa
in a house that’s
purple and green.
They must be  
A million years old,
or at least maybe forty-five.
Mom and Dad
said they looked really good.
I’m amazed they’re
still alive.
They didn’t have a bit of candy.
Just crackers
dipped in honey.
Their clothes didn’t fit  
and the whole house
smelled kind of funny.
They were
thin as a rail,
white as a ghost,
blind as a bat
and deaf as a post.
They said
it was amazing
how I haven’t changed.
Then all day called me
by my brothers’ name.
They say
it happens to every one.
And it’s not so bad
I’m told.
But still....
I don’t want to
never, ever, ever
grow old.

© 2000 Guy Workman