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Life is for enjoying.
When you are little, Birthdays are seen,
As counting the years 'till you become a teen,
Following teens, twenty one was the aim,
Every one thinking, there was so much to gain.
Conscripted for National Service by a letter HM sent,
With orders to train in the military, where we lived in a tent,
Sent overseas after some tough tasks in The Brecons,
With other young men, where a new challenge beckoned.
Some of us returned after serving our time away,
Changed from boys into men, so I’ve heard say,
Then resettled in civvy street to try to get back a life,
Having survived, coming of age, in the preceding strife.
Key to the door..........grown up at last!
Freedom to cast off the shackles now past,
Stay out late, just do as you please,
Crawl back home late, nearly on knees.
Marry in style, your future planned out,
Children and Spouse it all came about,
Together a home in the way you had dreamed,
A life full of love, or so it had once seemed.
Your children leave home, life returns in full,
No Children to collect or take to their school,
Whoa. Not so fast you're Grandparents, too!
Children need help again with workload anew.
Retirement looked forward to, time for a break!
Now babysit when needed, school runs to make,
“Need bigger house now dad," room is so tight,
“Need some help moving, come over, alright?
“House needs redecorating, got much to arrange,
Off on our holiday's, tired, need a change,
Tomorrow the doors arrive, we're leaving at seven,
Can you paint the doors white and fit all eleven?"
And so it goes on, Birthdays come and go,
Your energy wavers, you're becoming more slow,
Not that anyone notices, it happens in stages,
Each Birthday comes quicker, it used to be ages.
The life that you had still keeps changing at will,
But you carry on regardless, not yet over the hill,
When the next milestone arrives it could be a boon,
A free TV licence on offer but it arrives far too soon.
The Birthday arrived there was no licence to buy,
But soon the concession will be pie in the sky,
To enable the great BBC to balance their spending,
Although their repeats, to me, seem never ending!
Stopped planning for a future, not worth the thinking,
As whatever you plan, your old bones are just shrinking,
So when all toil is over and life's had your best,
Before your next Birthday, it could be time for a rest.
An ideal journey through life would be fulfilling and fine,
Before old age creeps up on you, which is far from sublime,
You sometimes appear invisible as some people can’t glean,
That the face in the mirror is still a person, not just an has-been.........
This is just a snapshot of life poem not one of sorrow,
Perhaps we should live for today, worry not for tomorrow,
Life’s ever changing as the years have flown by,
Birthdays don't matter anymore and now I know why.