The Hotel

You know your age when you get there
Bumping into Zimmers and scooters 
While the woods hit the jack,
As nostalgia glances round looking for a past
Recreated with a decor and design that once was,
While she smiles sweetly at the up-to-date waitress
Just to say thank you. 
 
Familiar faces, but names forgotten,
Not knowing left from right in a maze of corridors,
Surrounded by relics of conflict still evident.
While a MacMillan drum overpowers silence 
Saying it's a good investment for an unknown future
Which doesn't matter now
Because we're living for today.
 
I wake up in this geriatric paradise, 
The insurance broker's nightmare. 
Where dentures chatter and hearing aids hum,
Until suddenly I realise I'm one of them,
And I'm here,
Unconcerned about tomorrow, 
Enjoying today with a new-found persona. 
 
Sinah Warren Hotel in Hayling Island.
 
July 2024