My Get Up And Go Has Went

How do I know my youth is all spent?

Well, my get up and go has got up and went.

But in spite of it all, I’m able to grin

When I think of just where my get up has been.

Old age is golden, so I’ve heard say,

But sometimes I wonder when I get into bed,

With my ear in a drawer and my teeth in a cup,

My eyes on the table until I wake up.

As sleep dims my eyes, I say to myself,

Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?

But I’m happy to say as I close the bed door,

My friends are the same, perhaps even more.

When I was young my slippers were red,

I could kick my heels right over my head.

When I grew older my slippers were blue

But I could still dance the whole night through.

Now I am old my slippers are black,

I walk to the store and puff my way back.

The reason I know my youth is all spent

Is my get up and go has got up and went.

But I don’t mind at all when I think with a grin

Of all the grand places my get up has ‘bin’.

And since I’ve retired from life’s competition

I get up each morning and dust off my wits,

Pick up the paper and read the obits.

If I see my name missing I know I’m not dead,

So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

  by  Edward Holdsworth