Uncle / Auntie

FredPeyer

In Hawaii you know you are old when

the twentysomething at the coffee shop

calls you ‘Uncle’ or ‘Auntie’

terms of endearment

of respect, of honoring the elderly

expressions with their roots in

the Asian way of life and thinking

where ‘old’ is not synonymous with ‘senile’

where older people are still regarded as

fountains of knowledge and experience

not deadwood waiting to die

obstacles to sweep out of the way

bodies to hide in special prisons

called nursing homes, retirement communities

assisted living facilities, or care homes

No, no, no, no, no,

life does not end at 70, or 80, or even 90

the elderly should be regarded as

valuable members of society

the pillars the young ones

can stand and build on

and when they look down from

standing on our shoulders

let them remember that

they too will be ‘Uncles’ or ‘Aunties’ one day

  • Author: Alfred Peyer (Pseudonym) (Offline Offline)
  • Published: December 15th, 2020 12:51
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 47
  • User favorite of this poem: Poetic Dan.
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Comments5

  • Robert Southwick Richmond

    Since I'm 81 years old and was born in Hawai'i, I can relate to this poem!

    • FredPeyer

      Mahalo Robert,
      I am 72 and have been living in Hawaii for 32 years. I guess I am now a Kamaaina. Is that a Hawaiian shirt you are wearing in your picture? It kind of looks like a Rayn Spooner. And thanks for reading!
      Aloha
      Fred

    • Jerry Reynolds

      Good Read. Great cultural link.

      • FredPeyer

        Thanks Jerry! Appreciate your comment.

      • orchidee

        Good write Fred.
        Similar thing - clearing up the homeless from the streets, sometimes with a mentality of 'Sweep up the rubbish; they make the place look untidy!'
        And preposterous if there are any on the streets, if a VIP is due to visit the town. 'Too embarrassing, what?!' say the upper classes.

        • FredPeyer

          You are so right orchie. We do have quite a few homeless here in Hawaii. At least they don't freeze to death! And with Covid 19 I expect the number of homeless to increase, unless something is being done and soon.

        • Poetic Dan

          See there you go again! Giving the world what we need! Like it or not....

          This should be posted everywhere my friend!

          Thanks for the ripples 😉

          • FredPeyer

            What would I do without you here on MPS? Keep on trucking.....

          • Goldfinch60

            Great write Fred. I was talking to a friend yesterday about this and in a similar vain, my grandfather, my father and now I say "That old boy down the road" where that old boy is probably younger than us.

            Andy

            • FredPeyer

              Thanks Andy,
              For us "Old boy" is very "British". One of my brother in law's here used to live in Guernsey and somehow I picked up and now use "bloody hell", another British expression.
              What I tried to express in the poem is that we older folks do have something to contribute to society and that that fact should be acknowledged more widely. Look how hard it is for somebody in their fifties or sixties to find a job!



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