Excerpt from the Providence Journal, December 31, 2019
My Turn: Frank Robinson-You were somebody once
Editors note: For many years, we have published Frank Robinson’s poignant and thought-provoking poetry near the end of the year. With 2019 drawing to a close, here is his offering for this year, “Senior Moments III,” written from a retirement community:
A notice in our auditorium:
“Dear Alzheimer’s Patients:
Please don’t talk during the concert.
It disturbs the other guests.”
Of course, we love our children —
without them,
we wouldn’t have our grandchildren.
The challenge here,
you’re nobody now,
but you can’t forget
you were somebody once.
Just in Case:
Of course, I’ll go first,
but just in case,
please write a note
to your successor
(not replacement, no, never!),
a brief note explaining me.
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Waiting for My Knee Replacement
A few helpful comments:
“It’s very painful — worse than a hip.”
“It’s a big deal.”
“You’re walking so much better now,
you really don’t need an operation.”
And then someone stole my walker —
or rather, walked away with it.
Even my cane clicks
every time I take a step.
Thank God
they operate tomorrow.
The Day After:
People are so nice to me,
I must be very sick.
Here, you’re out of step
if you’re perfectly healthy.
Each of us is known for our illness,
and each day,
we’re either better or worse or the same.
We grow smaller year by year:
They say it’s age,
but maybe, too,
it’s the way that time
keeps lopping off
our jobs, our homes, our friends..
We’re left with who we are,
nothing more, but nothing less.
We have so little time left,
we have all the time in the world.
My wish for everyone here —
a healthy life, an easy death,
and a lot of money left over.
Frank Robinson was the director of the Williams College Museum, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, at Cornell University.
" Keep on Truckin' "
