I didn't feel so very old,
When nurse come, all a-titter,
An' handed me, to kiss 'n hold,
A fuzzy, squallin' critter.
The first time one's a daddy, he
Somehow don't stop to figger;
He feels ez awkward's he can be,
An' stouter, better, bigger—
But not so very old.

I didn't feel so very old
When first my teeth went thumpin',
Nor when the dentist took a-hold
An' never left a stump in.
False ones are clumsy, but they'll pass;
Jest do a little grinnin',
Standin' before the lookin'-glass,
And you'll appear quite winnin'—
An' not so very old.

I didn't feel so very old,
When first I had a symptom
Of rheumatiz each spell o' cold;
Of course, I knew I limped some,
But in these days folks live so fast,
'Twixt gold and pleasure-huntin',
Their youthful spryness doesn't last,
An' lots of folks do gruntin'
Who 're not so very old.

But now I'm feelin' kind o' old—
Perhaps I hadn't oughter,
But in this letter I am told,
“Your daughter's got a daughter.”
Oh my, how swiftly, one by one,
The years sneak 'round behind us;
We only think how fast they run
When Life and Death remind us—
Yes, yes, I'm gittin' old!