Poetry reading at Iron John’s Brewing Company, Tucson, AZ. Click on Departing to view the video.
The financial planner points to a chart,
says he expects me to die in 2040.
I don’t hold it against him—
he’s supposed to be actuarial.
Though I do take offense
when he denotes me as a period
on a downward sloping graph.
I let him know the inky dot
doesn’t look anything like me—
I’m taller and in much better shape.
As he abruptly closes his binder,
I take the opportunity to tell him
when he should plan to leave.
(first published in Right Hand Pointing, 2018)
Exactly how I felt! Great capture of feelings.
Hilarious, Al! You’ve captured a whole bunch of feelings about this crazy life!
Hi Deb! Thanks so much for visiting my site. I’m glad you liked “”Departing”–it just felt appropriate, being of “a certain age”. It will definitely be in the next book!