I am still viable

Day 9--"I am still viable"

I just had "that" birthday that puts me in another age bracket. Plus, I have also experienced recently some trappings of ageism, so I thought I would pen a quasi-résumé poem titled, "I am still viable."

I am still viable

I confess I possess some semblance
of gray hair and a few wrinkles
around the eyes, but I still have game.
I still get up on time, actually early, meaning
I can get to work on time, with a smile.
And I don’t need coffee
or one of those booster drinks

to get me going or even keep me going.
I just keep going because I know how to work.
I learned early in life by milking cows,
chipping ice in the winter, moving pipe
in huge potato fields in Idaho,
feeding pigs and chickens, mowing lawns,
and working early and hard in the garden.

I even picked potatoes and hoed beets
in the heat and those wild eastern Idaho winds.
Plus, I went to college and over the years earned a Ph.D.
Yes, I can work circles around most
of your employees all before noon.
I realize the youth need experience and guidance
and probably a boatload of motivation.

That’s where I come in, full of experience,
a guide to help them along the way,
showing how to work the oars and steer the ship,
a high-level motivator with a kind
yet pragmatic dose of stick-to-it-ness.
Plus, I see the holistic,
understand the mission and vision,

and work diligently and persistently
to bring them to fruition,
all in collaborative, successful ways.
Yes, I may be a bit more mature
than your 30-somethings,
some still wet behind the ears,
with their freshly minted degrees,

but I still possess the success gene
and the work gene
and visionary gene
and the resilience gene
and the entrepreneurship gene,
and they have functioned fine for years—
and ready to propel your company forward.

Yes, I am still viable…