Normie's Traveling Poetry Show!

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Prologue  

from out of the Senior World comes  Normie's Traveling Poetry Show.

 

I am excited to be able to bring to you some thoughts on engaging in creative aging.

According to the National Center For Creative Aging, older people can be expected "to live longer, healthier and more productive lives than ever before." 

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I am one of the vulnerable - engaging in creative aging.

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Here is a poem, called CREATIVE AGING.

You have lived your life this long.
Whether you’re a man,
whether you’re a woman,

you can become strong.

Though you are continually aging,
you can be active, stay connected.

You can become engrossed with creative hobbies.

Writing and performing poetry is one form of creative aging.

You can relish life as an enthusiast.

You can bring out your inner sunshine.

Creative Aging surely brings out mine.

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I wrote a poem-like-song ,

 

I’M A YOUNG OLDIE, 

 

(Normie sings]   I’M A YOUNG OLDIE, YOU CAN SEE.

                               I’m a young oldie, that’s me, that’s me.     

                                                                                                

I do things for the fun of it.

I do things to enjoy. 

I do things. because I like to.

GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY.

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                         [Now, you can sing along with me]  

GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY.

[again]   GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY 

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I’m a young oldie, you can see.

I’m a young oldie, that’s me, that’s me.

I love things to delight me.

I do things that cheer me.

I am happy like a little boy.

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[Now, again, sing]   GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY.

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I’m a young oldie, you can see.

I’m a young oldie, that’s me, that’s me.

I try things new to me.

I do things to challenge me.

I keep on evolving.

I become enthused and inspired.

I’m a young oldie, you can see.

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[Now, again]   GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY.

[Again]   GOOD FEELINGS IS MY JOY.

 

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Here is a poem about our new, normal way of life, called, AGREEING WITH ANOTHER.

An old timer explained to me,
he tries to be good to everyone.
"Be courteous and kind" is what he said.
The old timer honored what comes from one's heart.
A handshake used to represent mutual trust.

Nowadays, with the COVID!9 virus spreading,
the old timer still honors what comes from one’s heart.
He speaks to someone, at a social distance.
He doesn’t agree by a handshake anymore.
He agrees now with a nod and a smile.

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Next, the subject of simple pleasures.

 Our pleasures lead to the poem, called TREASURES.

 

Sensing relief from discomfort

is a simple pleasure.

For me each simple pleasure

is really treasured.

 

Feeling warm on a summer’s day, 

sweating and tired from the rising temperature,

then sipping a cool drink is so refreshing.  Ahh!

 

Having a splitting headache

with agonizing pain in the brain,

then the migraine is not there.  Ahh!

 

A cramping in the thigh

causing anguish and complaining,

then the pain clears up.  Ahh!

 

Being blasted by raucous music,

assaulting to the ears,

then the noise becomes quiet.  Ahh!

I can go on and on, but what I mean to say is,

when a feeling of discomfort leaves me any day,

Ahh!  this sense of relief is indeed a pleasure,

though noticed only for a moment or two.

 

 I hold such moments as precious,

to value each event as being a treasure.

Certainly, each of you must have collected

such treasures during your lifetime.

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       Here are some ideas on our new normal way of life.                             

You may not know what to do with yourself, staying at home.

You can become bored, can only trudge along, can become susceptible to anxiety and depression 

Please don't become lazy, don't become a slouch.                                              

 

Find something interesting and occupying to do,

something that is novel, something that is new.

Try it out and enjoy what you have learned to do.

 This enjoyment will cause, any boredom, any distress,

to disappear, to vanish out of view.

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In the Senior population, some Seniors can be experiencing

physical ailments and feeling physical pain.

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Here is a poem, called,

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CHALLENGES AND APPRECIATION

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I can’t make the world exactly the way

I want it to be, optimum for me.

How could another person know what it is like,

without actually experiencing what I experience?

At this stage and age in my life,

I have the right to possess my own symptoms.

I live in my world, my reality, alone,

aware of my private sensations and feelings.

My sensitivities, aches, and pains

belong to me as part of my kingdom.

I accept these symptoms as positive challenges

and truly appreciate that I still survive and am alive.

 

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Here is a poem that comes

from the inside of my head,

called

 

WITHIN THE MIND

 

I don’t really know

what I actually know.

Facts comes to me

when aware or unaware.

They get lost within the mind,

as if to disappear.

 

When trying to remember

some facts can reappear.

They can surface slowly

or as a pop-up suddenly appear.

Other facts are found eventually

after being absentee.

Some facts don’t come back at all.

They are permanently lost.

This is called

the lost and found department of the mind.

 

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There are times, I need to relax.

This poem, CHERISHED FEELINGS,

describes how I feel at such times.

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My eyes closed,              

sitting in quietness,

relaxed in timelessness,                                                                                                                                                                                     

immersed in space without boundaries,

sensing inner warmth and comfort.                                         

How wonderful it is being here.

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Here ‘s a poem about how to decide what to do.

 

CHOOSING

                              

If I had to choose between

Sitting or Running Around,     

I would choose the Sitting choice,

(leisure and pleasure).

rather than the Running Around choice,

(rushing and displeasure).

If I had to choose between

a Couch Potato or a Couch Creator,

I would take the Creative choice

(having an active mind)

 rather than the Potato choice

(of the mentally inactive kind).

                  My choosing does not preclude

                   physical activity part of the time.

 

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I am so fortunate,

 I am able to write and perform poetry.

This allows me to share my insights with you.

Now, MY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

 

First,

THE SLOW PHASE OF MY MIND

 

 

I feel slow. 

Slow is where I am.

I keep the pace slow.

This is what I need.

Slow I can handle.

Nothing any faster.

So I stay with slow.

My mind and my body,

They are my masters.

I am happy. I am content.

Slow is where I want to be.

 

I stay with slow.

That is what I want to know.

That is what I know.

Slow, slow, slow.

Second, THE FAST PHASE OF MY MIND

I am doing things fast.

I am having a blast.

I am having a ball.

The energy flows.

The mind’s aware.

Thoughts come up,

That I dare to share.

I express such thoughts. 

They are part of who I am.

The thoughts feel ap-pro-priate.

My mind and my body act fast, 

With a sense of needing to be bold,

With the achievements I desire and hold.

I realize I am in charge of my soul.

Now this phase of my mind has been told.

 

Last,

THE IN-BETWEEN PHASES Of MY MIND

 

My mind is not just fast and slow.

It is more than that.

It vacillates between fast and slow,

Shifting my focus to somewhere, 

To a place where I had not intended to be.

My thoughts keep on coming

Re-arranging them again and again,

To relatively short and transient goals.

I hold onto these goals for a few moments,

For an hour or even for a day or more.  

These goals that I possess in my mind,

provides me with an understanding of the value 

and the worth that I have about my life.

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Next, the poem,

THIS IS MY ONE AND ONLY LIFE

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I have become older. I have become bolder.

I express myself more readily to others,

now, much more so than in the past.

It is in good ways.  It is in virtuous ways.

I have become enlightened, empowered

I can tell you, this is my one and only life.

What this means to me is my lifestyle,

more chest breathing, more heart beating, 

more leisure, more pleasure, hopefully not despair,

more inspiring poetry, more encouraging poetry,

for me to compose, for me to share.

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Now, switching to another subject, on giving advice,

I realize sometimes, I can plant a seed

in some one's mind, 

but I cannot twist that person’s arm,

to have them think like I do.

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Now, the poem,

KIND TO MY MIND

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I won’t clutter my mind.

Won’t moan.  Won’t groan.

Won’t revive old ghosts from the past.

Won’t worry about any future unknown.

Accept what I have, what I own.

Appreciate today in a positive tone.

I’ll be patient with what I find.

I’ll usher in a new way.

I’ll be kind to my mind.

I’ll relax and unwind.

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Now, let us listen to,

LIVING IN A WORLD OF GOODNESS 

 

I generally see the world as good.
Not everyone can see the world as good,
the homeless, the very ill, the hurting and others.

Goodness is a way of thinking, a way of feeling.
Looking back at my life, at your lives,
many of us grew up
with the idea of goodness.
Our parents said to us,
you are a good boy, you are a good girl.

The word good is a basic part of our language.
It is heard in common, everyday expressions.
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good night.
Good feelings. Good times.
Good friends, Good ideas, Good luck.

Good and Goodness have always been around.
These are feelings, openly showing themselves, at times.
These are feelings, underlying who we are, as a people.

For me, I am living in a world of goodness.

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We all should realize  

there is so much to appreciate.

To live a good life is one of my themes,

for the gift of life belongs to me.

I will relate.  I will create.

This is healthy. This is productive.

I can live longer.

This is creative aging.

 

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I would like to share with all of you,

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THE WAY I LIVE MY GOOD LIFE.

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Life is not passing me by.

 I am here.  I’m alive.

I am able to breathe, able to sigh.

This makes me beam,

like the gleam in my father’s eye.

It’s the attitude I have.

It’s the way, I look at life.

I don’t need sorrow.  I don’t need grief.

I don’t need to complain.

My thoughts and my feelings are mine.

They make me shine.

I smile for awhile.

I hum for awhile. 

That’s part of my life style.

I glance around and I can say,

LUCKY me.  LOOK at me.  I’m a LUCKY me.

I’m pleased. I’m blessed.

I keep in touch.

with the harmony within me.

LUCKY me.  LOOK at me.  I’m a LUCKY me.

I am living in a beautiful world,

a world of wonderment, a world of beauty.

LUCKY me.  LOOK at me.  I’m a LUCKY me.

I am able to give life to myself.

 

And you, you can be lucky too.

 

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I am closing with the poem,

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CAUTION, PATIENCE AND OPTIMISM 

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I am one of those vulnerable oldies,
who relish being at my age of ninety,
but staying alive requires being sage.

With the COVID 19 virus spreading nowadays,
caution, patience and optimism is my way.
Keep on having a positive outlook I say.

If I possibly can, I am staying at home.

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This is the finale. 

Normie's Traveling Poetry Show has ended.

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© Norman Molesko, 2020

Ambassador For Seniors

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