Michael Collins - Age

You are as old as you feel.  What a truism.

I was 25 a long time ago.  And I must have

felt old, because I wrote a poem about being...

well... old. It rings true today. That's depressing.

That poem could have been written last night.

I remember thinking at the time: I wonder if

I will be still thinking this way when I am actually

'old'. I have my answer.

I have, in fact, written many poems about growing old.

Or 'older'... As I prefer to call it. Wiser as well? Debatable.

Bob Dylan once sang: I was so much older then, I'm

younger than that now. Or similar. Lucky him... He

doesn't look it. Personally, I would not much enjoy

returning to my youth... Not much fun. Mind you, I would

be quite happy for the extra years. That would be nice.

Some kind soul told me that I look 19 in my new FB pic...

With my new orange hat. The person who gave that hat

to me called me her 'toy boy'.  I suppose when you are

 almost 90, someone who is 71 can be a toy boy. She later

rang to apologise. She then rang again to pretty much

withdraw the apology... That was fine, too. She did not

really need to say sorry, anyway. I took the compliment

as it was intended.

Still, 'age, is not to be trifled with. There should be

 anti-aging drugs, I reckon. Perhaps there are and we have

just not found them yet? I know that being around young

people makes a difference- providing that they are not

your own kids, of course... They can be a bit of a downer.

Apparently, for those interested, Metformin is rumoured

to be a life-prolonging medication. True rumour. I doubled

my dose upon being made aware of this absolute fact.

Yes... 'Age'... A few less heartbeats to enjoy. A few more

ailments to deal with. A few less friends to go to coffee

with.  Now that's a major downside... Especially for them.

Yet we make new friend, of course. And they are valued.

But it is never quite the same. Nor should it be.  Nor could it be.

For we are quite different in ourselves in so many ways.

Though the same in, perhaps, just as many.

So... Just as an aside... And I will leave this one in the air...

Why do we 'give up' on life, as we age... Indeed, why do we give

up on life at any age? And we do... Don't we?