Aging Poems

Aging Poems

Poems about Growing Old

Aging is a natural process of life. It begins the moment we are born. Strangely enough, most of us live under the illusion that we and our loved ones will never become old. When old age arrives, we are often unprepared. The natural order becomes reversed. The young help to care for the old. Those who need to be taken care of for the first time have a hard time accepting that they need help. This condition is a product of our culture that does everything it can to conceal the loss of youth. Confronting this reality is the beginning of a healthy relationship to life, aging and death.

48 Inspirational Poems about Aging

1 - 20 of 48

  1. 1. The Forgotten Mother

    • By Ruby Latimer Edwards
    • Published by Family Friend Poems November 2006 with permission of the Author.

    A gray old woman sits all alone,
    Unloved, uncherished, and unknown.
    Sitting beside her broken door,
    Dreaming of days passed long ago,

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    • Stories 75
    • Shares 3193
    • Favorited 44
    • Votes 3054
    • Rating 4.50
    Featured Shared Story

    In March 2022, I was diagnosed with Renal cancer. I'm doing fine following up with my CTs. My kids' dad was diagnosed with hepatic cancer, lung, the works, and passed away in March. My (our)...

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  3. 2. Living With Dementia

    • By Annabel Sheila
    • Published by Family Friend Poems July 2008 with permission of the Author.

    She's trapped inside the prison walls
    That used to be her mind.
    The woman that she used to be,
    Has long been left behind.

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    • Stories 20
    • Shares 1309
    • Favorited 26
    • Votes 1104
    • Rating 4.47
    Featured Shared Story

    Would love to read some of your experiences. I am currently caring for and have two care givers looking after my 80 year old mother.

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  5. 3. I Still Matter


    I'M STILL HERE

    My looks are nothing special,
    My face reveals my age,

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    • Stories 18
    • Shares 13077
    • Favorited 171
    • Votes 2650
    • Rating 4.60
    • Poem of the Week
    Featured Shared Story

    This poem really hit home with me. I will be 60 on my next birthday and it seems like years fly by like days. I too look in the mirror and wonder where all the lines and wrinkles have came...

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  6. 4. I'm A Person Too


    • By Dawn Mazzola
    • Published by Family Friend Poems December 2010 with permission of the Author.

    Here I lie in bed again, Awaiting my next meal.
    A worker barges in my room, As if it's no big deal.

    What ever happened to courtesy? Just a little knock.

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    • Stories 16
    • Shares 2988
    • Favorited 51
    • Votes 1505
    • Rating 4.63
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    I too worked as a CNA for 15 plus years and then I choose to do private home health care. I always respected my residents and my private clients and demanded that everyone else did. They each...

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  7. 5. Changing Places

    • By Alora M. Knight
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 2015 with permission of the Author.

    I see the sadness in your eyes,
    The times that you are knowing
    What's happening to your wondrous mind,
    The symptoms you are showing.

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    • Stories 6
    • Shares 2021
    • Favorited 58
    • Votes 545
    • Rating 4.57
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    Memories! I was 53, he 54 when the complications of Alzheimer's took him. At his prime as an exporter, his secretary fell for him. I left and visited Canada for 3 months, but on my return,...

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  8. 6. The Little Boy And The Old Man

    Famous Poem


    Said the little boy, sometimes I drop my spoon.
    Said the little old man, I do that too.
    The little boy whispered, I wet my pants.
    I do too, laughed the old man.

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    • Stories 5
    • Shares 5071
    • Favorited 46
    • Votes 932
    • Rating 4.57
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    I admit I didn't know Shel Silverstein until I bought a couple of sheets of stamps with his name on each stamp and a silly little sketch of a cartoonish little girl. "Who is Shel...

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  9. 7. The Hands Of A Warrior

    Purple veins strain against the skin.
    Pale, translucent, paper thin.
    Skinny fingers clawed in monstrous shapes,
    Brown spots from years that she can't erase.

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    • Stories 5
    • Shares 3548
    • Favorited 42
    • Votes 699
    • Rating 4.54
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    Dear Angie,
    I should have responded much sooner to your beautiful comment about my poem. I am so thrilled that you could completely relate to my words and then share them with others to help...

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  10. 8. Clearing The Way

    • By Alora M. Knight
    • Published by Family Friend Poems September 2017 with permission of the Author.

    I have waited quite a long time to get old,
    So I think I should try to enjoy it.
    I can't turn it in for a refund,
    And I surely don't want to destroy it.

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    • Stories 5
    • Shares 2729
    • Favorited 31
    • Votes 349
    • Rating 4.44
    Featured Shared Story

    It is genuinely a beautiful poem depicting the harsh reality of life that many of us don't really know how to handle the unwanted changes that old age brings with it. One always lives in this...

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  11. 9. She Tried To Fit In

    • By Ann D. Stevenson
    • Published by Family Friend Poems September 8, 2024 with permission of the Author.

    To find room
    for her flannel nighties,
    a well-worn woollen dressing gown,
    her furry slippers

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    • Stories 4
    • Shares 7
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 15
    • Rating 4.20
    Featured Shared Story

    Oh Pat,

    I sometimes think if it wasn't for people like you I might just give up writing poetry. I get so low when my poems don't receive any votes. In fact I tried to get one deleted,...

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  12. 10. Kid Stuff

    Many, many years ago
    When I was just a kid,
    And I had just began to grow,
    There's stuff I had and did.

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    • Stories 3
    • Shares 2383
    • Favorited 31
    • Votes 477
    • Rating 4.49
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    Ah, blissful childhood memories. Raised in a rural community, most relatives and friends lived on farms. Being a town kid, homemade fried chicken dinners in an oversized farm kitchen, that...

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  13. 11. On Aging

    Famous Poem

    When you see me sitting quietly,
    Like a sack left on the shelf,
    Don’t think I need your chattering.
    I’m listening to myself.

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    • Stories 3
    • Shares 4362
    • Favorited 37
    • Votes 532
    • Rating 4.48
    • Poem of the Week
    Featured Shared Story

    Reading this poem was very heartfelt and personal. Maya Angelou has always been my favorite author of all times, but reading this particular poem reminds me of my grandmother who I was lucky...

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  14. 12. This Journey Of Mine

    I wake up each day
    On this journey of mine,
    Grabbing each moment
    Of my limited time.

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    • Stories 3
    • Shares 41
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 18
    • Rating 4.33
    Featured Shared Story

    Miss Fleming: I was looking at a poem I wrote, SWEET THINGS FOR YOUR EAR, and I saw you left me a wonderful review. We seem to have the same outlook on life. I look back on my life a lot. I...

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  15. 13. I Am Not Old

    My eyes are fine; they are just printing words small.
    I just use a walking stick to seem stately and tall.

    Nothing is wrong with my sense of smell.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 7033
    • Favorited 67
    • Votes 1059
    • Rating 4.33
    Featured Shared Story

    Very nicely described and also the way it became funny was absolutely fantastic.

  16. 14. Remember Then

    • By Catherine Cordeiro
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2015 with permission of the Author.

    When you feel bad for what you say
    Remember your mom wasn't always this way.
    She is your mom and used to be
    A woman who cared, much like me.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 567
    • Favorited 33
    • Votes 168
    • Rating 4.52
    Featured Shared Story

    My mom is not 90. She is just 66 and is in that transition phase when you begin to realize she is growing old. It is a hard thing to realize. The woman who took care of you all your...

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  17. 15. Keepsake

    • By Mac Mckenzie
    • Published by Family Friend Poems September 2014 with permission of the Author.

    One day my dad was hunting, from his favorite hunting stand;
    'Twas a giant Oak with perfect limbs, under which two deer trails ran.
    Now this favorite spot of Daddy's was as unique as it could be,
    'cause a lightning bolt had burned a giant hole down through that tree.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 829
    • Favorited 10
    • Votes 205
    • Rating 4.35
    Featured Shared Story

    My aging husband, who just turned 70 in October, still takes his grandsons out bowing and hunting ever year. He helps build the tree stands and everything, teaching them the way of the...

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  18. 16. It Could Not Be Me Anymore

    It could not be me he's thinking of
    When he looks up at the soft moonlight.
    And it can't be me that he's dreaming of
    When he falls asleep at night.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 17
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 12
    • Rating 4.33
    Featured Shared Story

    Another brilliant poem - I love the way you write - keep them coming, please.

    Very best wishes, Ann

  19. 17. The Golden Tear

    • By Susan Vidd
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 29, 2024 with permission of the Author.

    He moved with deliberate motion
    Each step a painful chore
    His body bent and crippled
    To the depths of his human core.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 8
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 12
    • Rating 4.17
    Featured Shared Story

    Hello Ann,
    Thank you again for your kind and encouraging words. I dedicated this poem to my dearest father who passed away at the age of 98. You are NOT elderly! Best wishes from across...

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  20. 18. Just Another Year

    • By John P. Read
    • Published by Family Friend Poems May 2019 with permission of the Author.

    The years are taking their toll.
    Another birthday has now arrived.
    People you meet say you're still looking young.
    With a smile, you wink and say, "Nice try."

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 333
    • Favorited 5
    • Votes 55
    • Rating 4.02
    Featured Shared Story

    Age is only a number we accumulate through our journey along the path destined for us. “Just Another Year” gave our hearts a nudge. It’s all right to climb the ladder of numbers and let our...

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  21. 19. Encore!

    Those things that meant the most to me
    Are no longer in my life.
    And those people most important
    Have vanished now from sight.

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    • Stories 1
    • Shares 416
    • Favorited 43
    • Votes 135
    • Rating 4.67
    Featured Shared Story

    I just love your poems - keep writing. You inspire me to keep writing myself.

  22. 20. The True Warrior Inside

    You may not know how old she is
    But I'm quite sure you'll recognize.
    It doesn't take a rocket scientist
    To see the ravages of time.

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    • Stories 1
    • Shares 7
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 12
    • Rating 4.42
    Featured Shared Story

    Oh Pat, I just love your poetry. I am so damned old myself it's great to read a poem that sums up how I feel about my aged self. Keep writing! Love and very best wishes, Ann.

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