I KNOW WHAT WE NEED

(yes, it’s AI, and it’s much too small and has far too many stairs, but you get the idea!)

We need a place,You know.Somewhere to be together,When we’re old and wonkyAnd mischievous.Gummy, too, probably,But hopefully we’ll have Good false teeth,And a nice young ladyRegularly come to do our nailsSo we can hide our gummiesBehind rainbows.We need a place,You know.A place with character,Without too many stairs.Somewhere with an enormous, light and airy kitchenWhere those of us with cooking inclinationsCan gather to chop a spread of homegrown vegetablesOn a board as big as a small tree.There’ll be music playing,Not from a little transistor radioBecause - come on! - how old do you think we are?!But from those funny ghost-like things,Piloted by whoever gets onto Spotify first.And chances are we’ll bicker a littleOver Madonna, The Eagles and Genesis,Over jazz, too, unfortunately,But we’ll make our own playlists,And singalong to favourites from our funny old world.We need a place,You know,Somewhere large and sprawling,With enough land to take walks,Where Zimmer frames can trundleAnd wheelchairs can whizz,Where our dogs and cats can cavort,And chickens can run free and lay Perfect eggs.There should be a large pond, too,An enchantment ofWaterlilies and cobalt blue dragonflies. We’ll need someone fit among us,Someone who knows what might do well in that shady northern spot,Who knows a weed from a chichi daisy,And enjoys pruning rosesJust as much as their perfume.We need a place,You know,In a sunny, warm climate,With bougainvillea and plumbago,And the mesmerizing sparkle of the sea.We need a pool flanked by oleanders and pampas grasses,With shallow steps and an elegant rail to graspAs we make our squealing, joyous, ginger way into the warm water.We need a place,You know,With large bright rooms and pretty artwork,Where linen curtains flirt with the rosemary scented breeze,Where the walls don’t smell of disinfectant and fermenting soup.Where we can write, and paint, and do pottery,And read beneath olive trees so gnarledWe feel like teenagers of humanity.We need a place,You know.A place where we canLive joyfully, inspired and safe,Until we sleep happily ever after.

Buy my book, and a coffee!!!