Ode To My Aging Body

Ode To My Aging Body

Good morning to you corpus meam,
Let’s arise and carpe diem!
Now awaken
legs of lead!
Help me clamber
from my bed.
Stretch, contracted plantar fasciae;
flex now, joints, and oil my bursae
as I mount on my calcanae.

  
Forward, now, you staggery gait
Rheumy eyes, accommodate
Beneath each one’s a bag
matching my (slight) submental sag.
Sit now with a sigh
On unpadded glutei.
Protect my flaking epidermis
From cuts and bruises and ecchymoses.
Teeth, don’t crumble when I bite,
Bladder see me through the night.
—Myron F. Weiner, MD

Dr. Weiner is Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
His E-mail address is myronweiner@yahoo.com.