I’m Fine Thank You
There is nothing the matter with me
I’m as healthy as can be.
I have arthritis in both my knees
And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze,
My pulse is weak and my blood is thin,
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.
Arch supports I have for my feet,
Or I wouldn’t be able to go on the street.
Sleep is denied me night after night,
But every morning I find I’m all right,
My memory is failing, my head’s in a spin
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.
The moral is this – as my tale I unfold,
That for you and me who are growing old,
It’s better to say, “I’m fine” with a grin,
Than to let folks know the shape we’re in.
How do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well my ‘get up and go’ has got up and went.
But I don’t really mind when I think with a grin,
Of all the grand places ‘my get up’ has been.
Old age is golden, I’ve heard it said,
But sometimes I wonder as I get into bed,
With my ears in the drawer, my teeth in the cup,
My eyes on the table until I wake up.
Ere sleep overtakes me, I think to myself
Is there anything else I could lay on the shelf?
When I was young, my slippers were red;
I could kick my heels right over my head.
When I got older, my slippers were blue;
But still I could dance the whole night through.
But now I am old, my slippers are black;
I walk to the store and puff my way back.
I get up each day and dust off my wits,
And pick up the paper and read the ‘obits’.
If my name is still missing, I know I’m not dead -
So I have a good breakfast and go back to bed.
Comments
This poem was written
This poem was written anonymously.
SITE ADMIN EDIT:
Yes, you're right Hazel. It's anonymous.
It appears on websites at least ten years ago, on websites as far apart as Australia and Scotland.
I certainly heard it being recited quite a few years earlier than that, when I was living in Scotland, and it does appear to have appeared first in Scotland and then very quickly found its way round the world once the internet caught on.
My Aunty used to recite this
My Aunty used to recite this and three other poems in the sixties, never reading always just straight from the top of her head. I have recently been writing poetry myself.
Hazel