(August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971 / New York / United States)

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Come On In, The Senility Is Fine

People live forever in Jacksonville and St. Petersburg and Tampa,
But you don't have to live forever to become a grampa.
The entrance requirements for grampahood are comparatively mild,
You only have to live until your child has a child.
From that point on you start looking both ways over your shoulder,
Because sometimes you feel thirty years younger and sometimes
thirty years older.
Now you begin to realize who it was that reached the height of
imbecility,
It was whoever said that grandparents have all the fun and none of
the responsibility.
This is the most enticing spiderwebs of a tarradiddle ever spun,
Because everybody would love to have a baby around who was no
responsibility and lots of fun,
But I can think of no one but a mooncalf or a gaby
Who would trust their own child to raise a baby.
So you have to personally superintend your grandchild from diapers
to pants and from bottle to spoon,
Because you know that your own child hasn't sense enough to come
in out of a typhoon.
You don't have to live forever to become a grampa, but if you do
want to live forever,
Don't try to be clever;
If you wish to reach the end of the trail with an uncut throat,
Don't go around saying Quote I don't mind being a grampa but I
hate being married to a gramma Unquote.

Submitted: Monday, January 13, 2003


Read poems about / on: baby, fun, child, sometimes, trust, hate, people, children

Comments about this poem (Come On In, The Senility Is Fine by Ogden Nash )

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  • Cynthia Buhain-Baello (4/30/2012 12:16:00 PM)

    Very funny and witty poem that give tribute to grandfathers. Skillful, crafty and prolific write!

    3 person liked.
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  • Keith Oldrey (12/23/2011 8:16:00 AM)

    Great is my regret that you have left us, witty truth always makes the finest poems, every one a little gem but non truer than this ode to alzheimers

    4 person liked.
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