The other day I was fitted

with a neat and digital hearing-aid. 
It tickles my ear. 
It's another thing to look after
in my joyous old age -
to mislay, or forget to turn off,
or fish out of the bath -
and where did I put that phone number
and e-mail address for when the two-month
free supply of batteries runs out ?
A battery lasts only five days or so...
(And where did I put
the battery-charger for the camera ?)

It's just as well I'm not important enough
to have a mobile phone!
The car-keys are always in the car
and of course I never lock the house
because I lost the key some twenty years ago.

In a world full of gadgets
there is too much to remember -
and ever more 'stuff' to get to know...
But if I can manage the Instruments
of Advanced Living, and if my energy
is not too diminished and dispersed
I may enjoy my second childhood
(with greater liberty and a wry
appreciation of irony)
much more than my first.