THE OLDEST MEMBER
I first encountered him
And you may have too
On a visit to Bertie Wooster's gentleman's club
Where a certain esteem is assigned
To being
"The Oldest Member"
Wodehouse's words, of course, were fiction
Even Jeeves, Bertie's valet
But, to me, the stories were real
My mother, our grand matriarch
Held court with her grandchildren
And great grandchildren
For the last thirty of her 97 years
Her brother, ten years her junior
Outlived his generation
And was celebrated until he passed at 95
We loved it when they joined our events
Irreplaceable sources of family lore
Regrettably, the inevitable generational loss
So much mine-able ore
Left untapped
A few gems I keep
Deep where my psyche tweaks
Me and what I do
Discussions of "getting old" were taboo
Walking and aerobics were pursued
As was mom's curiosity about our lives as teens
Keeping us at the dinner table
Long after dad had headed to the living room
Her brother read the New York Times
Saw the latest Broadway shows
And loved hosting our visits
To The Big Apple
They may have acquired their persistent youth
From their mother
Who, it was said, loved a good party
And died in her sleep
After a long day of celebrating
My Master of Science graduation
With her boots on, so to speak
Nor can I forget the teasing
Our advanced degrees
Did they really provide us with daily life expertise?
On my father's side it was "family"
When it mattered the most
We could depend on their presence
How sad to lose those uncles and aunts
The ones who would play catch with me as a kid
Or nudge me at Thanksgiving
"More bird?"
They communicated, at least to me
I first encountered him
And you may have too
On a visit to Bertie Wooster's gentleman's club
Where a certain esteem is assigned
To being
"The Oldest Member"
Wodehouse's words, of course, were fiction
Even Jeeves, Bertie's valet
But, to me, the stories were real
My mother, our grand matriarch
Held court with her grandchildren
And great grandchildren
For the last thirty of her 97 years
Her brother, ten years her junior
Outlived his generation
And was celebrated until he passed at 95
We loved it when they joined our events
Irreplaceable sources of family lore
Regrettably, the inevitable generational loss
So much mine-able ore
Left untapped
A few gems I keep
Deep where my psyche tweaks
Me and what I do
Discussions of "getting old" were taboo
Walking and aerobics were pursued
As was mom's curiosity about our lives as teens
Keeping us at the dinner table
Long after dad had headed to the living room
Her brother read the New York Times
Saw the latest Broadway shows
And loved hosting our visits
To The Big Apple
They may have acquired their persistent youth
From their mother
Who, it was said, loved a good party
And died in her sleep
After a long day of celebrating
My Master of Science graduation
With her boots on, so to speak
Nor can I forget the teasing
Our advanced degrees
Did they really provide us with daily life expertise?
On my father's side it was "family"
When it mattered the most
We could depend on their presence
How sad to lose those uncles and aunts
The ones who would play catch with me as a kid
Or nudge me at Thanksgiving
"More bird?"
They communicated, at least to me
A good humored approach to life
With a certain elan
Now I sense from the members of my clan
Unaccustomed civility and patience
"Take your time"
"Here, let me help with that"
"How you doing, young man?
I wonder what I convey
Possibly it will show up
When I read my obituary
To our young
Aging out and due to step up
Excuse me
If I show some concern
About ceding this position
To take my place
"The oldest member"
You'll have to wait your turn
DRK
8/10/18
