The Man Who Grew Young

The man who grew younger started life at the age of one hundred-eleven

But as he grew younger and younger and younger he was soon ninety-seven!

His beard grew shorter, his wrinkles got smaller, his hair got darker in color

But as his wits came back to him his mind got sharper (not duller)

By the time he was forty-nine he wanted to work for pay

But until he got a college degree everyone told him “No way!”

So after saving up thousands of dollars he went off to a university

He was as busy as a bee and worked through trials and adversity

But when he finally graduated he realized life was cruel

Rather than getting to go and work, he had to go to high school!

So he went to class day after day (learning what he already knew)

And after that came middle school (which he almost quit half-way thru)

Then he moved on to elementary school and kindrgarden as wel

And his nowledge of things started vanishing as if by a majic spell

And now hes onlee 5 yeers old and groeng yungr evree nyte

The man whoo gru yungr will sune be a bby that canott reed or wr⌇ʇϑ৴﹏

(For a more  accessible version, link here)

Author Notes:

1. If this story just screams Shel Silverstein to you, me too. I actually had to look up and make sure that this wasn't a story that he already wrote. The closest thing I could find is his short story, "Growing Down" which is about a grumpy old man becoming a child at heart, not about his physically aging backwards.

2. Also, this premise is in no way original (it’s in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the book The Man Who Grew Young, etc.). This is my take.

3. Originally published on my blog Fireplace Ponderings (HERE).