Comment from pome lover

Excellent

well, if that's you in the picture, you look mighty content. If it isn't, you picked a good one.
I'm with you - home - happy, content, enjoying each day as it comes.
Good message for us all. Enjoyable read. good luck.
pome lover

 Comment Written 13-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 13-Aug-2019

Thank you for your review and comments. Not me in the pic but could relax in the same manner.

Comment from moongirlwriter

Excellent

I believe it's good to ponder. . .and how nice that you and your wife are both still around and you're able to enjoy your home and your yard. I am caring for my aging aunt who is about to turn 93 but I am not far behind her but still in my 70's. I would stay in my own home until the work of keepig it up gets to be more than I could do personally. . .or if I lost my other half. Every day is a blessing to be unwrapped and filled up with the life that's still waiting. I'm living in a senior center. . .guess what! I'm the only one who uses the pool, except for visiting grandchildren. . .no worries there. :) Nicely written poem. . thanks for sharing it.

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Thank you for your read and your encouraging comments. Enjoy writing and your husband, not necessarily in that order.

reply by moongirlwriter on 10-Aug-2019

I am single but have been married. I look at other happy couples living out their lives together and think, what a luky couple they are to have each other.

Comment from LeftHandedScribe

Excellent

Can I be you when I grow up? Seriously, your perspective on this time of your life is so refreshing and full of hope. Thank you for sharing this personal part of your humanity.

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Thank you for your read and your most encouraging words.

Comment from Mystic Angel 7777

Excellent

This meets the contest requirements beautifully as you pretty much covering everything the act of growing old involves. A bit of advice, while you are still relatively active do the down-size as it will become impossible for you down the road. I know from personal experience since it was terribly hard work for my Mom and I (Dad was already unable to do anything do to illness) four years ago. Don't wait until it's too late. Good luck in the voting and thank you very much for sharing it.

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Yes, we have received that advice before and thank you. Also thanks for the read and the comments.

Comment from RodG

Excellent

Your poem introduces us to a speaker who seems very content with his life as he grows older. He certainly isn't complaining too much, despite the physical pain of sciatica. My suggestion--because this is a contest entry--is to be more CONSISTENT with your format. Most of your stanzas are quatrains, but not all. Also, you use rhyme in some but not all. You need to decide if this poem should be free verse or traditional.

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Thank you, I will consider your suggestions. Look for changes below:


These days, I sometimes sit and ponder how many
days do I still have before?? Don?t want to brag,
but I?m approaching eighty years old. I try to stay
busy, don?t want to sit and vegetate.

I?m a bit creakier when climbing out of my bed,
legs at times feel like they?ve turned into cement.
Morning exercises to keep sciatica under control,
and a couple of more to work on those love handles.

I still have wants, like improving my writing and bowling too,
My goal is to average 170, but I have some way to go.
I have a novel though finished; it is not yet published,
more effort is needed to see it in print.

I know I am lucky; my wife is still with me;
many friends, not by choice, are single again.
Together, we two keep loving and plugging, to
where we?re not certain, but we keep going.

We still own our house, always needs something done,
lawn needs cutting, bushes need to be trim, the
same with our bodies, eyes, ears, hips and lungs,
not nearly as efficient as in the way back when.

Doctor appointments litter our calendar, we mix in
movies and plays for some fun. Four-thirty
dinners with friends are now the rule, snoozing on
the couch, TV on, before we shuffle off to bed.

Always the question, should we downsize,
or stay, or purchase a condo in one of those
Senior living places? At least, if one of us dies,
the other would not be too alone.

But, would that be surrender? Would that be giving up?
I really don?t wanna be around old people all of the time.
A day at the pool, in one those places, is very depressing,
who needs a reminder of how much we've changed?

For now, I think I?ll just keep pondering and enjoying
my patio, sitting in the sun, under clear blue sky,
watching rabbits, squirrels, and flitting birds
living out their lives in the confines of my backyard.

reply by RodG on 10-Aug-2019

I do like this poem more as FREE VERSE. By eliminating the rhymes, you make the reader focus on the content, the story your narrator is telling us about being old. I added a star to my rating. Rod

reply by the author on 11-Aug-2019

Thanks much for your guidance, very helpful.

reply by the author on 11-Aug-2019

Thank you for your advice, greatly valued.,

Comment from Y. M. Roger

Excellent

Oh, yeah... certainly questions I think many of ask... not out loud, and certainly not when the spouse is around... :) :) A perfectly wonderful offering for this contest -- puts the reader right there in the back yard with you, looking at those bushes that need trimming again when you'd rather no deal with it!! ;):) LOL! Thanx for sharing and best of luck at the polls! ;)

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Thank you for your read, review and comments.

Comment from V McCrary

Excellent

I feel you. In my mere 60's and I'm with you on not wanting to be around a whole bunch of other folks all the time and savor the moments when I'm left alone to enjoy my solitude and work on my writing. Your poem speaks truth to me and I too find myself wondering, but am determined to make each moment count. Keep writing, because your words were definitely worth the read.

 Comment Written 10-Aug-2019

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reply by the author on 10-Aug-2019

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. In some ways this is the best time of life, but also some of the saddest.