The Next Level--By Charlotte Ann Zuzak--United States

The Next Level

I dislike the term "senior citizen."
still can't decide at what age that happened;
I cringe when I read of social events
where youthful choirs sing at "old folk homes"
for our "golden agers."
I can't stand the ads for scooter chairs,
I'm still on the treadmill at the Y
pumping my legs which still can move,
no hip or knee replacement.
I don't go to Florida, preferring four seasons
and I love a hard snowstorm
with knitting and reading.
I still can drive, my sight is good
corrected with contacts since I was a girl.
I'm a widow and survivor of breast cancer,
the future is mine for however long.
Next month I travel to Europe,
nothing will stop me, I turn a new page.

Charlotte Ann Zuzak received her BA degree from Albion College and her MA from the University of Michigan in foreign languages. She taught Spanish for several years on both the high school and college levels. She has always been involved with music, namely piano and organ. Charlotte worked with voice students as an accompanist, and also as a church organist. She has been involved in writing starting in grade school when she wrote short stories and poetry. After she quit teaching she returned to her love of writing. With her husband, a retired university dean, she has traveled extensively in Europe, Russia and the United States. Charlotte and her husband have a daughter who is a medical doctor in Bethesda, Maryland.