THREE SCORE AND TEN

/ The Coastal Crone

Thirty-three years ago I wrote a simple poem for an old friend (REALLY old, I thought at the time) for her 70th birthday.  She has been gone for many years, but as I approach my own 70th year I remembered that poem and dug it out of my files.  It was composed in longhand and then typed without the assistance of  word processing.  In those days I often wrote basic rhyming poems for birthdays.  I am sure family and friends cringed inwardly when they got one!  Here is the poem.

For Nettie…in her Seventieth Spring

Nettie,
Ms. Lynn, if you please,
is a friend of mine,
but hard to define.

A gentle soul,
courageous fighter;
giving much,
reaching out to touch.

I see in her past
glory and sorrow.
Yet she’s come through it all,
still standing tall.

She brings sunshine and hope
wherever she goes;
a reminder of giving,
a vision of living

Happy birthday to a
lovely lady!
3/3/83

Nettie Lynn was Jewish.  Her family came to the United States from Russia.  She had only one child, a daughter, who would have been about my age had she not died as a young child.

As I enter my 70th fall…I remember Nettie and look both ways…past and future…and embrace today.

makeup

24 thoughts on “THREE SCORE AND TEN”

  1. You touched my soul with your poem and reflection upon life. How marvelous that your words of honor for a friend now become a reflection on the surface of the pond of memories and life. You are such a gifted and inspiring person; your words flutter from your soul like butterflies in the spring.

    I love your selfie………..lookin’ good girl! Oh yeah, and I love the sliver scalloped dish on the bateau (we have one just like it and were reminiscing about its years with us just yesterday) and the French Empire or Egyptian Revival chair in the background is beautiful also.

    Thank you for starting out my Texas Autumn day with these inspiring thoughts and reflections on life.

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    • I try to live as gracefully as I can these days and do try to celebrate this life. Husband and I occasionally dance in the kitchen. Thanks for being a faithful reader. You were probably one of the first blogs I found and one of my first followers. It is nice to have you as a young crone as a friend! I hope all is well with you.

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    • Sometimes I look back too much and remember only the bad but I have only today to make it better. I hope perhaps they did know that I thought they were special.. And sometimes I wrote poems just to express my feelings and still do. I know you have poetry of your own that brings joy and release. Thanks for taking time to comment! You have been kind to follow a crone’s blog! I enjoy keeping up with you. I know you will be out voting – we voted yesterday.

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  9. Happy Birthday, Jo Nell! May you enjoy many more! I love the poem and the thought. Wonderful header image and a really good photo of you. You look forty, not seventy! You know, I never looked back in my life. I suppose I learned that from my mother. She couldn’t recall much about her early life, oddly, since she could recall the price of a loaf of bread from many years earlier. She lost a baby, and I think that’s why she blocked out the past. I don’t know why I do it, but I have to ask my older sister about anything that happened when we were young. Chuckle… Heck, now I have to ask what I had for lunch! 😉

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    • Thank you for the bd wishes, George! I suppose I look back too much and I envy those that can just let go. But as I grow older I do try to focus on today and let some of the past go. I can’t remember what I had for lunch either! As you can see I have a simple flip phone and was just playing around trying to practice a selfie a few months ago. Subdued lighting helped the wrinkles and lines! I spent too many years in the sun. Cheers!

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  12. I enjoyed reading this beautifully and thoughtfully written post. I like the way you look forward and backward–and embrace each day. I’m a little younger than you, but try to do the same.

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