Featured Poems for 11/19/2020

Photo by Patrick Buck on Unsplash

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
“Whither are the manly vigor
and athletic appearance
of our forefathers flown?
Can these be their legitimate heirs?
Surely, no; a race of effeminate,
self-admiring, emaciated fribbles
can never have descended
in a direct line from the heroes
of Potiers and Agincourt…” — 1771

I know it’s the eternal custom
of us elders to complain about
the “feckless” youth that follows us.
I tell my kids it’s their rite of passage
to have to listen to the pompous
pontificating and self-righteous twaddle
of old people mostly jealous of the time
the young still have before them.

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

49
My father’s mother
died at forty-nine
the same age I am now.
My other grandmother
made it to ninety-four,
which does give me hope
I’m not done yet, as they say.
But I do know, going forward
there will be more funerals
than weddings.

If you enjoyed the poems, please check out more of my poetry at Matthew Spira’s Poetry. My first collection, The End of the Rainbow, on sale now. Thank you for reading!

ABOUT MATTHEW SPIRA’S POETRY
My publication contains my poetry and stories. I tend to focus more on people than things, but I write about a wide variety of topics and moods. I am especially interested in the military/veteran experience, (single) parenting, and the bemusement of middle age.