Poetry

How to Live Well Past 90

By Donna Charielle
October 24, 2015  

Buy The New York Times
every Sunday
and take the week to read it

Eat mostly organic vegetarian
except for the occasional chicken

Drink a glass of wine
almost every day
from dainty cut crystal stemware

Adorn your walls with art
and family photos

Wash dishes
only when the spirit moves you

Realize when you’re about 13
that you don’t give a crap about
what others think

Become a feminist!
Do what you want
Be a rebel
Speak your mind when you need to

Avoid negative people
even if they are relatives

Take naps on a hammock
almost every afternoon in the summertime

Passionately pursue one cause
whether it be passing the ERA or saving the whales
stick to it your whole life
inspire younger ones to carry the torch

Work to be as successful as you can, then
burn your bra at 50 and learn yoga
teach it to others for the rest of your life

Meditate every day
twice a day

Don’t kill crickets
their days are numbered anyway

Always be patient, kind, and open minded
Never miss an opportunity to see the humor in anything

Every evening watch three different news channels at once
while skipping those awful commercials

When the world looks like it’s going
to hell in a hay basket
visit a college campus
when you see the young people
you have hope for a better tomorrow

Let your hair be the color of pearls
Put on lots of mascara and dangling earrings
every Thursday morning
and take the train into the city
for Italian class

Then go have Thai food or Indian
and see a show
before taking the late train home

Practice Italian everyday
Always keep moving Onward
Do it all with Grace
and eat half a Klondike bar every night
because
“If you were born when Calvin Coolidge was President, what else can you do?

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