An Exclusively Grouchy Group Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Aging is attitude: what you are when you are young
will come to pass as you age; the biggest problem
is this book was written by a pastor with years of
loving community service, he even served three
missionary years in Africa, he recommends
service and teaching to fulfil the older
person’s need to be needed

Given that I am not a community person, never
mastered the art of participating in group acti-
vities, found teaching impossible; found my joy
in solitary pursuits practiced against a back-
ground of other people’s activities without
direct interaction; I do not meet the
requirements set out in my book

To create a carefree and happy old age - how
to relate to people in groups when I failed to do
so in my youth, all I hope is that cantankerous
and irascible people who love seclusion as
much as I do, will age with me so we can
form an exclusively grouchy group…