When is a man considered old
Is it when he was so told
That he should retire
Because there is no more fire
That he should take it easy now
Should reduce the work somehow
Start to enjoy his life
Go travel with the wife
To be told all this and more
Scares me to the core
They do not know the real me
Because the outside is all they see
They don’t know what I feel
What is false, what is real
How good it feels to be alive
With a fulfilled and active life
The path they want me to take
Feels to me like a big mistake
I want to keep on using my brain
Not held back by any chain
The outside may look old and used
The skin mottled and bruised
But inside is a different man
Straining to be whatever he can
Working, thinking, all of that
Fits just nicely under the hat
Why should I just wait to die
When the only limit is the sky
There is no age to any mind
No obstacle of any kind
That could not be overcome by me
So please, just let me be