Ravages of Aging…

(Michael H. Lester and GenieNakano, a tanka response) Micheal is in black print~~ Genie is in Purple and italic) a tongue in cheek but true Tanka Series

the old skin
a patchwork of spots
and strange bumps
dry as the desert
wind-worn sands of time

bags baggage
and budding wrinkles
yet I feel
thirty five inside
mirrors tell cruel lies

remember
when we were thirteen
the blood flowed
to our tender parts
that now sag and droop

my doctor orders
“use it or lose it”
I asked my
my lover for help
gone those quickie days

I recall
the verve of my youth
as I trudge
up the seven steps
to the old folks home

at the airport
my hip replacement
triggers off alarms
so much attention
for all the wrong reasons

those days
when I got second looks
now long gone
even…