Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Aging. It is almost July and the planet is ever-hotter. I have been warning people for years. I am aging and walking slower now. I used to hike and had to wait for the others. I farmed endlessly and collected huge bags of field rocks For my hand-carved pieces I distributed to others. I hiked across my thousands of acres, loving every inch. I went to Farmers Markets and conferences. I was free, a very mobile thinking organism. Now I have aged and death is catching up. I woke today at 3 AM and began to think about where I am. My body hampers my former freedom, But I realize I am still free and must glory in that. I am free to eat what I want, when I want-- I am forever making sure it is healthy and balanced-- But if I wish to mix Ranch with Italian on the same lettuce, I am able to do such, completely freely. If I wish to mix a slug of Anise with Sake, No one is there to hassle or judge. I can feed my Betta fish at 10 or 3--they still respond. I can determine that my doctor's appointments Are only in the afternoon. I can purchase a fulgurite on eBay when I wish. I am able to sign a petition and mail it at will. I can go out and sit by my pond when I wish. I am able to ask my helper, Jessie, to pick up milk when I need. I talk with my son when he calls on his way to work. I can speak out when I did not dare before. I can listen to Mongolian Throat Music-- It is there for me to choose, and no one stops me. I am also able to write any poem and publish it whenever. I am free or is this just a momentary illusion? So, I hold this all in reverence and realize its specialness. Soon will come a time when none of these freedoms will remain. I shall be bodily-helpless, at the constant whims of others. I will become more useless as a thinking human being. That is why now, instead of grumbling about my declining situation, I rejoice for these few last free years of life. Sometime this 'freedom' will all end, And I shall be a prisoner in my own body. However, may my mind remain free to the end. Frank Maurer 10 July 2026. 1820 Hours.