WHEN I AM AN OLD MAN, I SHALL WEAR SPEEDOS(tm)

WHEN I AM AN OLD MAN, I SHALL WEAR SPEEDOS^(tm)*
And contrasting plaids.

And stop to play with children, doing what I like when I feel like it.

And pick up the phone after 5 rings, and immediately begin to tell a corny joke,
before I find out who's calling.
If I pick it up at all.

I will draw silly pictures, and offer to hug people who cry or look sad,
and never wonder what others might think.

When I am an old man, I shall ride my bicycle into town,
wearing tight bike shorts and a bright striped bike shirt that stretches, almost,
across my tummy.

And I shall clack across tile floors with my clip-on shoes,
chewing on my helmet strap and stopping to chat
with neighbors as though all were well with the world.

Then I shall ride home with my backpack full of healthy,
eccentric things like soy milk and adzuki beans and
supplements with names no one can pronounce.

And I shall hurry, because the rocky road
ice cream is beginning to melt.
Or maybe I shall stop under this tree and eat it now,
and not even wait until after lunch.

(c) 2004, 2006 David Calloway
* Speedos(tm) is a registered trademark of Speedo Holdings BV