Laughing all the way through old age

Mike Slosberg is not giving in to old age. He's fighting back -- with poetry. The ancient Japanese kind, of course, called Haiku. His book called Pimp My Walker: The Official Book of Old Age Haiku is brimming with 60 poems. So how , you ask, can a poem fight arthritis or bring back memory? Well, actually it can't -- but the ones Slosberg pulled together are packed with humor and have turned old age into an art form. Check these out:

I can remember / When sex was better than food/ Now vice is versa
Grandkids are a joy / Play a while, and hand them back / Just like a Hertz car
High school reunion / Everyone looks so ancient / Except for yours truly

Mike Slosberg is no slacker, though graying on top himself. He's written two novels and a book of cartoons which he wrote and illustrated himself. He's currently working on a third novel, a children's book, a play and, believe it or not, a time machine... really!

Jeff Martin shared this one with me:
I'm Fine, Thank YOU
There is nothing the matter with me.
I'm as healthy as I can be.
I have arthritis in both my knees
And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze.

My pulse is weak, and my blood is thin
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.
Arch supports I have for my feet
Or I wouldn't be able to be on the street.

Sleep is denied me night after night,
But every morning I find I'm all right.
My memory is failing, my head's in a spin
But I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.

The moral is this, as my tale I unfold,
That for you and me who are growing old,
It's better to say "I'm fine" with a grin
Than to let folks know the shape we are in.

How do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well, my "get up and go" just got up and went.
But I really don't mind when I think with a grin
Of all the grand places my "get up" has been.

Old age is golden, I've heard it said;
But sometimes I wonder as I get into bed
With my ears in the drawer my teeth in a cup,
My eyes on the table until I wake up.

Ere sleep overtakes me, I say to myself,
"Is there anything else I could lay on the shelf?"
When I was young my slippers were red,
I could kick my heels over my head

When I was older my slippers were blue,
But I still could dance the whole night through.
Now I am old, my slippers are black,
I walk to the store and puff my way back.

I get up each morning and dust off my wits
And pick up the paper and read the obits.
If my name is still missing, I know I'm not dead
So I fix me some breakfast and go back to bed.


Author Unknown