Age ain’t nuthin' but a number, they said.
Only each of those numbers
means you’re one step closer to being dead.
Sure, I can still wear a short dress.
But why would I—
there’s no need to impress.
The hormones have fled, and in their stead
I have wisdom and serenity. I’ve said goodbye
to the burning desire to coax someone into bed.
Yes, I could hike the Himalayas, if I try;
but my arthritis means
every step of the way, I’d cry.
I play the guitar, but don’t get too far,
before I feel it in my elbow.
Didja notice Jimmy Page
rubs his arm?I guess he didn’t get the memo--
the one that says it’s just a number, your age.

I’m here to tell you age makes you humbler.
NO ONE my age says “age is nothing but a number.”
Numbers mean something, they add and subtract;
by the time you’re my age, you’re in your second act.
In fact the second act is closing, I’m moving on to the third—
the final act--where you’ve got to sum it all up, but, rest assured:
I’m not pining for my lost youth,
when I had better health,
but less truth.

today is your fifth birthday -
only nobody in the world knows this but me.

the 20th of November -
the death of all your unlived dreams.

happy birthday my little one,
may you rest in peace.

I'll always be there  
Even on the bad days
When I don't want to be for myself I'll be there for you
Waiting
It could never be a waste of time
So I wait and wait and wait and wait and wait some more
Living for what I love  
Not made to change only to understand, to level up
Hoping you can feel it from afar
During the times you can't look at yourself
You'll know someone loves you
Someone cares
For the thinnest half of a chance that could ever bring you comfort
That's why I'll always be there

your love left a permanent mark
a scar on my heart
            a scar on my mind
                        my heart, my mind
                               they bleed without blood
                      they struggle in pain
            while my eyes rain
   the bees, the flies
they fly around
                  they know I'm lying on ground
                     they know I'm already dead

My Tree
Through dark and dismal days
I watched you reign
And come to flower,
Then fruit again.

Wardrobe change
No more the green.
I watch you undress
All over me.

Why do the birds sing
As they say goodbye?
Or do they weep,
As they watch the fall?

Become icing on the ground
And you stand tall.
In ****** you are
Still, strong and proud.

I wrap myself up in
Yellows come golds.
Rolling with glee into every fold,
And I breathe you.

My mind is the breeze.
Turn your robes into oceans
That fly with me..
Continue life with me.

The time to hibernate,
Wait till Winter has gone.
Then comes Spring
And I shall watch you dress again.

Wistful of the past
And the future?

My mind is the breeze
That captures thee.
Showers the world
In fragmented sunbeams.

Warming the earth,
Making the fairies dance.
Embracing the metamorphosis
Of life.continued.
(Gerry Aldridge 2016)

The Day In-Between
Cars nose their way
Guardedly down the road.
Wrapped in shadow,
Blankets pulled up tight,
Concealing them.
A woman is crossing the street
With a basket full of washing.
Furtively exploring
A moment of liberty.
She shrieks at the ghost
Of an elf.
Who was there
Only yesterday.
She tells herself
It is the past.
The one she remembers
She did not have.
The one she is told
Will never last.
The woman scolds herself,
Chuckles aloud.
The Prince she danced with
The night before,
Is all she is waiting for.
The cobble stones twitched
At the touch of their feet.
As they waltzed
In the old village square.
She finally found Prince Charming
In the last dance
At the end of the Ball.
Then night became dawn
And they parted,
Until after the sun had gone down.
Hush more sacred
Than a Sunday.
In-between two Fundays.
Hush, hush,
Before you dream
Too much.
Silence! Silence!
Sleep! Slumber!
Hung discreetly
Over us.
The day after
The day before.
Oh Carnival!
Oh Carnival!
I implore you
Come once more!
(Gerry Aldridge 2016)

Touching every ethereal speck, their vision was unwavering
Eyes piercing through imaginary chambers of the brain
Past a feathery dreamscape
Into an explosion of unwavering reality

This tiny apartment,
snug as a coffin,
claustrophobic as a tomb,
just large enough
to be a staging area
for the real thing.