Prophylactic Tanka
I suppose I’ll have to die someday or so I’m told, but I was also told to say my prayers & put 10% in the bank & floss to save my soul & my old age & my teeth,
& I still have nearly all my teeth (two crowns) & my soul doesn’t hurt much mostly, just a dull ache thruout the workday & a pain that shoots thru my astral guts when I read the news or sit thru a wedding or an open mic,
& you know I never planned to have an old age but with my luck I probably will, full of remorse & overdraft fees & 2nd-hand dentures & no one around,
& as I sit on the balcony & watch cars & bugs & bats & falling stars that turn into airplanes, as I smell burning oil & lilacs & listen to a muffler drag on the street & my knees crack,
I think I really should do something about my mortality, but the cat & I like things as they are as they should be as they were & last night I slept with my eyes closed, so I guess I’m ready.
— Sturgis Giteau
4/25/25
(NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 25)