Poem: Ninety-Nine

 

Oldie But Goodie - Leslie Wilson


Ninety-Nine

On her 99th birthday
She asked me, “How ya doin’?”
   “Really,” I said, 
   “If anyone but you asked me that,
    “I’d have said, ‘Gettin’ old, and feelin’ it.”

We laughed.

By phone, we bridged the continent
   and the 50 years past.
We reminisced a bit,
But more than that –
   More than the weather –
   Or the rust and brokenness of age…
We renewed our shared sentiment
   For peace in a world at war
   For clean air, justice and good government.

On her 99th birthday
When we rang off our phone
We gave thanks.
She’s an oldie,
   But God, is she a goodie.


Roger Straw
© 2022

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The Benicia First Tuesday Poets’ Group and members of Benicia Literary Arts have written ekphrastic poems about paintings from our show, Watercolor - A Happy Medium.

Ekphrastic poems are vivid verbal descriptions of a work of art. Fifteen different poets each came to the aRt Cottage to pick one pieces from each of the 15 artists in the show.