LINES

Just finished the morning routine,
Shaved, cleaned teeth and such.
Arranged the hair with my washrag
And discovered there wasn’t much.

Upon closer inspection I found some scars
And remembered how they came about -
A stone thrown by a next door neighbor
There’s a leftover from a boxing bout.

The sagging eyelid over the right eye
Caused by wire stretched between the trees,
The Italian I was chasing knew it was there
Introduction put me on my knees.

Then there’s those lines, they keep getting longer
They say those come with time.
If being in your mid-eighties means anything
Ain’t no question about those lines of mine!

One more thing before I end
And I’ve thought of this for awhile,
It’s up to you how you arrange them,
You can either frown or you can smile.

John J. (Penny) Panciera
Conneaut Lake