My memory is not as good as it used to be..

Stealthily, almost imperceptibly, quite unfortunately

Age has now begun to afflict my memory

I am still highly functional but often find

Things I was sure I’d remember slipping out of my mind

If a good night’s sleep I haven’t had

My recall appears to be especially bad

When I have to study for a test I can see

The unmistakable effects of declining memory…

*

A part of me rises in revolt at the thought

Of growing older, though increasingly I’m brought

To this realization- especially when the new mantra seems to be

(Especially for women) that forty is the new twenty

*

In trying to ignore the effects of old age, I resist

Writing things down, making lists etc.- I insist

On relying on my memory unreliable

The effects are often quite undesirable..

*

To think about failing memory depresses me

Therefore the brighter side of aging I need to see

As I have grown the accumulated experience

Aids me in my work in ways immense

The framework upon which I operate

Is stronger than it was, as a conservative estimate

I am one and a half times as productive

As I was ten years ago, with much more to give

To my family, my profession, and the community

So it matters less if I don’t have a sharp memory…

*

Let me make some lists before I forget

And my overconfidence I come to regret