Author Information
When I'm an Old Man
When I’m an old man trains will run any time at all.
Teachers will show up for class when they feel like it.
No one will know how to spell or punctuate.
Abbreviations will form a new language –
Whether in English or in Arabic
No word will be sacrosanct.
Architects will use the cheapest materials.
Musicians will soundcheck deep into the night
And audiences will still applaud.
The working class will be the lower class,
The upper class the upper-uppers.
The common man will be a shadow,
A forgotten figure,
Forgotten even by old men like me
As we row about a polluted sea.
