Judy, Age 74
Judy Scher and Julie Coburn compiled and edited a book entitled LET THE CLOCK RUN WILD: Wit and Wisdom from Boomers and Bobbysoxers. Released this May 2014. Here is the opening to a story as well as a poem that speaks to the title and will, hopefully, encourage your readers to check out our website: www.lettheclockrunwild.com
A CIRCLE OF CRONES by Elayne Clift
There are among us one uterus, three ovaries, multiple husbands, numerous children, several grandchildren, and six interesting careers. Two of us are cancer survivors. Another has a chronic disease. One has been sexually abused. We know better than most that Bette Davis was right: Old age is no place for sissies. That is why we proudly call ourselves Crones – wise women of a certain age who are transitioning into the third stage of our lives with grace, spirited intelligence, humor and a sense of belonging in this world.
LET THE CLOCK RUN WILD
Kenneth K. Cohen
As I look into the mirror
Closer, closer, nearer, nearer
What I see with each fine line
Where past and future intertwine
Is all that waxes also wanes
So little of my youth remains
Except within my inner child
Uncompromised unreconciled
To anything but being free
Of feckless age as destiny.
No, I say, it’s not the end
My butterfly waits round the bend
To claim my spirit and to soar
My here and now forever more.
Uncompromised, unreconciled
It’s time to let the clock run wild!
HOW OLD IS OLD?
By Barbara Mott, Age 90
Ninety in numbers is a pretty high score
It means quite a lot has gone on before
A lifetime of living with memories galore
The future can’t hold so very much more
Yet life has no meaning if it’s measured in years
It’s a balance of excitement, of joy and of tears
Not knowing what’s coming as the next year appears
Will there still be surprises as each day unfolds?
Will we arise with the sun to await the untold?
What age should one be to begin to feel old?
Must stay the course and strive for the gold
We can’t give up now, with a new year ahead
Must keep looking forward, not give into dread
We’ve accomplished too much to let it be said
That we finally gave up and took to the bed
No, the young have a challenge to follow our lead
It takes lots of living to get up to speed
And if it’s done right they will surely succeed
The joy in their life is all they will need
They can look back as the years fade away
And re-live their life at the end of the day
Yes, ninety is old, but with choices ahead
It’s better by far than ending up dead.