Milestone

It had been creeping up on me quite gradually
But the irrefutable sign that made it official was the diary entry
(To be precise, the Google calendar reminder, more formally)
That read, in black and white, on the little screen:
"Schedule colonoscopy"

I guess this was a watershed, call it a milestone
There was no mistaking what I read on my phone
The doctor's recommendation that one inspect my nether zone
Lest, like the dearly departed actor, you know
The one who starred as Black Panther,
I succumb to preventable misfortune

I suppose the statistics for those of my race in America
Must have been suitably ominous when it came to colon cancer
For the public health officials to have advanced by a number of years
Their recommendation for check ups to avoid a trail of tears

Demography and mortality statistics being what they are
For those, quoth the soul singer, darker than blue in America
I celebrate daily the small things, and that I have made it thus far
With loving family, relative wealth, and unscathed in police encounters

I still wear my mask of civility and bottle up my outrage
Except on the occasional lyric verse that I apply on these blank pages
But here, I count my blessings even as I must acknowledge
The bleedingly obvious: that I have become middle aged

Milestones, a playlist

A soundtrack for this coming of age (spotify version)

• Milestones by Miles Davis
• Milestones by Bill Evans
• Milestones by Dexter Gordon
• Sign O' The Times by Prince
• Afraid by Amel Larrieux
• Check Yo Self by Ice Cube & Das EFX)
• It's Going Down by Ralph Tresvant
• Milestones by Miles Davis

...

Timing is everything
Observers are worried

File under: humour, life, aging, culture, race, health, observation, perception, black, USA, public health, Small Things, Observers are worried, toli

Writing log: May 3, 2021