87, and So Glad to Still be Around

“So, I’m going into my 87th year/ feeling that hope is very much alive,/ that the steps I take towards/ reaching the age of 88/ can be quite meaningful/ and promising." Poetry by Ernie McCray

It’s April 18th, 2025,
and it’s now 87 years
that I’ve been alive
and, so far, I’m digging it with all my might.
I mean I woke up
to Happy birthday greetings
and a
“I love you”
or two
and I was good to go,
don’t you know,
in spite of having to tolerate
all that my 87-year-old body
is putting me through,
doing whatever the hell it wants to,
shooting off little aches and pains
that might suddenly appear anywhere
on my being,
as I moan and groan upon
sitting and standing
or lifting or bending –
but all I can do is keep on stepping
the best I can,
realizing
that the work of being a human being
is never done,
knowing that I might be called upon
to be there for someone
as I was just the other day
spending a little time with a friend
whose wife
had passed away,
a dark crippling grief with which I can relate
which made me listen to him
truly knowing and feeling his pain
as we sat and chatted,
sharing memories of lost ones,
tears, in one moment,
finding their way
out of my eyes,
while, at the same time, we scarfed down
garlic buttered biscuits
and potatoes and collard greens
and catfish,
with me sipping an old fashioned
and he a double scotch
as mellow hip hop
bounced in the background
of a cafe
wherein smiles could be found
on faces all around,
and on the next day
I get a message on my smartphone:
“Thanks for the company
last night”
and I was incredibly relieved,
so grateful that after all my years
I can still help someone.
And knowing his journey
to recovery   
will take a while,
I’ll be there for him
no matter how long it takes -
at any time…
 
Then on the next day,
my birthday eve,
at about noontime,
I go to a luncheon
that was so soothing for my soul
and my mind
as some very nice comments were made about me,
unexpectedly,
praising my poetry,
and my leadership,
and my humanity,
and I learn about a wonderful program,
Girls on the Run,
presented by a somewhat new friend
who has become dear to me.
 
Hearing her talk about the fun things her organization
has done
to help girls recognize their inner strength
and embrace physical activity
and imagine their possibilities
and stand up for themselves
and others,
was so refreshing for me.
 
So, I’m going into my 87th year
feeling that hope is very much alive,
that the steps I take towards
reaching the age of 88
can be quite meaningful
and promising.
 
And, of course,
I will need to maintain such an attitude
to weather the storms ahead
in a world in crisis.
 
But that won’t be,
as we used to say, “no thang,”
for an old Arizona Wildcat
who has been bred to
“Bear Down!”
 
So, glad to still be around.

Ernie McCray is an activist for love and peace who acts and sings and writes both poetry and prose, a man who rises each day to do whatever he can, no matter how small or grand, to make the world better in some way.

Unapologetically.