My Life | Poetry

John Williams, Colne

I was born many years ago
Now here I am 75 what do I have to show?
I’m going deaf, my knees hurt, I can’t see so well
And as for my love life, I don’t want to tell
Things don’t work as well, the older you get
I know if I was a dog, I’d be put down by the vet
But I’m not bothered, I don’t even care
And as for living I’ve had my share
The Blitz in Coventry when I was only four
Three years in the RAF abroad I did my tour
Married to my dear wife for fifty years
We’ve had lots of laughs and a few tears
A lot of friends we have long since passed away
But we’re still here, what can one say
We don’t smoke, not much red meat
Always remember you are what you eat
I’ve had my back nearly as long as the wife
But you never know what you get in fact that’s life
Then I lost my fingers that slowed me down a bit
But I still play my drums in fact I’m quite a hit
Then there’s my poems, a talent I never knew
And now all at once, I’ve written a few
Life, politics, boobs, I wrote poems on them all
If somebody wants a poem you only have to call
I like doing funerals, I can talk of the dead
And nobody knows what’s going to be said
I cheer people up, put a smile on their face
But I don’t take over, I know my place
So when him up there calls my name
I’ll have to go, innit a shame.