Old Kids
When I was a kid my mother and her sisters
called each other "old kid." I don't know why.
It was an oxymoronic age.
I'm not sure about
old kids today but kids are what
I call people half my age and younger.
My kids are kids. My nieces and nephews
and grandchildren
are kids.
Teens at the mall are kids and so are
girls walking though our yard and running in the road.
Kids are everywhere. They're on TV, crashing cars,
selling me books and groceries, dying
in stupid wars, killing each other in the streets
and poking their fingers into wireless things.
I used to be a kid but I didn't hang out at the mall,
I wasn't on TV and I didn't kill anyone.
I'll admit that I ran through a lot of people's yards
but there weren't any malls and few TVs.
The only thing wireless I had was a flashlight
But I am older now and so what?
I'm several kids old as a matter of fact
and I guess I have to get used to the word.
Are any of you old?
Old rhymes with mold you know.
Just the other day I did some research
and
found out that I am
older
than plastic
bags and answering machines.
I'm older than personal computers, automatic
transmissions, window air conditioners, spandex,
the internet and all things digital, plastic
straws
and weapons of mass destruction.
But I am younger than pencils and chairs.
Soft Pillow
