Respect Your Elders - Maya Angelou

[Larry Robinson]

Respect Your Elders

When you see me sitting quietly,
 Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don’t think I need your chattering.
 I’m listening to myself.
Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me! Hold! 
Stop your sympathy!
Understanding if you’ve got it, 
Otherwise I’ll do without it!
...When you see me walking, stumbling, 
Don’t study and get it wrong.
 ‘Cause tired don’t mean lazy 
And every goodbye ain’t gone.
I’m the same person I was back then,
 A little less hair, a little less chin, 
A lot less lungs, much less wind.
 But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in…

	- Maya Angelou
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