Older, Wiser, Happier | K John Koshy

The biblical lifespan nearly covered,
Life finally begins to look perfect.
The old office, why, even the world
Seems to be getting on alright.

The wife and children less prone to argue,
Agree more often with a whatever-you-say.
The only irritant being the regular refrain,
A pointed reference to my erratic blood pressure.

Friends and relations regale me no more
On the vagaries of their BP and Sugar
Since my own ailments I have acquired.
Who likes his pet concerns overshadowed?

Peace begets peace and everyone agrees,
I’m easy to deal with and smile rather often.
Suffer fools willingly and leave wise men alone
Letting go of my well-known propensity
Never to let an argument go without contest, 
And never to let sleeping dogs lie. 

Violence I abhor, no taste for any blood sport,
Above all, the ones on television, twenty-four seven.
Patience sits on me like a monument,
Leave WhatsApp messages alone till end of day,
Keep at bay all the news that are dying to break,
Until the morning newspaper lands on my desk.

Time for the straight and narrow, they say.
An occasional tipple has done no one no harm,
Even gods were not averse to a draught of soma,
And what fun is heaven without sinners, I demur.

My advice to fellow pensioners, though no one asked?
Stop worrying about the future of democracy,
The central vista, or the state of the economy.
There are people younger and better to ruin it.

The author is a former civil servant who lives his superannuated life in Chennai with wife and three cats. He is an occasional writer, an intermittent gardener and a constant lover of life.