[Epicurean Laments of Aging Old]*

(1)

With proclivities gastronomical

That I have for long been known to harbor

Pushing the limits anatomical

Preferred to take the strain, the stress endure

Sought succor with ad hoc medical cure:

Indulge surfeit, unbridled appetite

Savor at leisure, rewards from each bite.

(2)

Manila Coronas’ famed aroma

Blends with bouquet of Napoleon Brandy

Balkan Sobranie, spiked with Latakia

Furnish the bliss for hedonists parley

Which rich excess reckoned grieved injury:

By massive stroke, forced weaned from nicotine,

On brandy, cirrhosis impugned faux sin!!!

(3)

Brandy and cigars, marks of indulgence

Ne plus ultra, in Hedonist heaven;

Coveted by consorts of decadence,

Mocked by hypocrites at their mirrors preen

Indulgent of their trespasses unseen:

All bets are off on mere appearances

Je ne sais quoi acquits disturbances.

(4)

Nostalgia not confined to condiments

Galore of pleasantries for the palate;

With sight and smell the brain experiments

On sundry gracing the Epicure plate,

Discard the rest, the best to expropriate:

Oysters on half-shell, served by half-dozens

By quarter pints are served the sea urchins.

(5)

Alas that the trip’s chronicle should close

The banquet held with spontaneous flare

Adjourns to quarters, where? Nobody knows.

The endless arrays of sumptuous fare

Gone but memory of the atmosphere:

As wont of yore, of late antiquity

Shunned but by few, vaunted depravity!!!

==|==

*This locution is the most condign mode to versify my sentiments posted on my Facebook page on 15-May-2015, to wit: ~> There must be a way to navigate through old age without having to do away with my favorite brand of Napoleon Brandy.  I ungrudgingly abandoned the aroma of Manila Coronas and Latakia mixed Balkan Sobranie.  But to walk away into the sunset without the bouquet of Napoleon Brandy warmly trickling down and pleasantly tickling the esophagus is tantamount to going gentle into that good night without a fight, if not adding insult to injury outright.  © Constancio S Asumen Jr,