wonderfully old

Wonderfully Old.

Woke up a day in May felt serene and old,
admired my deep facial lines and tanned
baldness; yes, I’m a survivor of mudslingers
and character assassins. Infinite, my charity
is, even toward those who criticize my style.
My experience is vast, knowledge profound,
there is no hell and the heaven is a fairytale;
thus I fear not walking into the good night.
I keep my fingernails clean, dress well, now
that I’m old; bought a blue blazer with gold
buttons on and a captain’s cap; when I walk,
with measured dignity, through my town,
women will stop and say: “What a charming
man, this ancient tar with a song in his heart.”