Class Reunion
It was my class
reunion, and all through the house,
I checked in each mirror and begged my poor spouse
To say I looked great, that my chin wasn't double,
And he lied through false teeth, just to stay out of trouble.
Said that 'neath my thick glasses, my eyes hadn't changed,
And I had the same figure, it was just a mite rearranged.
He said my skin was still silky, although looser in drape,
Not so much like smooth satin, but more like silk crepe.
I swallowed his words hook, sinker and line
And entered the banquet feeling just fine.
Somehow I'd expected my classmates to stay
As young as they were on that long-ago day
We'd hugged farewell hugs. But like me, through the years,
They'd added gray to their hair, or pounds to their rears.
But as we shared a few memories and retold some class jokes,
We were eighteen in spirit, though we looked like our folks.
We turned up hearing aid volumes and dimmed down the light,
Rolled back the years, and were young for the night.
I checked in each mirror and begged my poor spouse
To say I looked great, that my chin wasn't double,
And he lied through false teeth, just to stay out of trouble.
Said that 'neath my thick glasses, my eyes hadn't changed,
And I had the same figure, it was just a mite rearranged.
He said my skin was still silky, although looser in drape,
Not so much like smooth satin, but more like silk crepe.
I swallowed his words hook, sinker and line
And entered the banquet feeling just fine.
Somehow I'd expected my classmates to stay
As young as they were on that long-ago day
We'd hugged farewell hugs. But like me, through the years,
They'd added gray to their hair, or pounds to their rears.
But as we shared a few memories and retold some class jokes,
We were eighteen in spirit, though we looked like our folks.
We turned up hearing aid volumes and dimmed down the light,
Rolled back the years, and were young for the night.
~ ~ ~ (Elizabeth Lucas)
Class Reunion
My
class reunion's coming,
and I don't know what to do.
My weight and chins have doubled
since the year of '62.
My weight and chins have doubled
since the year of '62.
I look
into the mirror and--
Good Grief! How can this be?
Gray hair, false teeth, thick glasses--
It's my mother's face I see!
Good Grief! How can this be?
Gray hair, false teeth, thick glasses--
It's my mother's face I see!
But I
head out to the party.
No sense moping, I decide.
I'll just have to grin and bear it.
(But I'm dying, deep inside.)
No sense moping, I decide.
I'll just have to grin and bear it.
(But I'm dying, deep inside.)
Then I
walk into the banquet hall
And stop. There's some mistake.
Not a single classmate do I find.
Did I confuse the date?
And stop. There's some mistake.
Not a single classmate do I find.
Did I confuse the date?
Still
the faces seem familiar,
As each one I keenly stare at . . .
Then I realize I'm looking at--Good Grief!
My classmates' parents!
As each one I keenly stare at . . .
Then I realize I'm looking at--Good Grief!
My classmates' parents!
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