"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
 I shall not live in vain."
Emily Dickinson

"Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Chortle on Aging
© By Francis Barden

I'm dealing with advancing age
and trying hard to cope.
My body says it's gone from can
to little less than hope.

I used to be so lean and mean
and hardened like a rock,
but now a simple test of strength
sends muscles into shock

I'm getting up three times each night
to tend to nature's call.
You'd think the bladder'd know by now
that last trip took it all

The urges that I use to have
are gone like sweet September
I know there's things I used to do
but how I can't remember

But regardless of the shape I'm in
or how I feel each day
I still enjoy the challenge
of the game of life I play