Fort he longest time, I thought threescore and ten equaled seventy-one. I asked ChatGPT and it stated: "Threescore and ten" is a phrase that is often used to refer to the number 70. In modern English, "threescore" is an archaic term meaning "three times twenty," or simply 60. So when combined with "and ten," it becomes 60 + 10, which equals 70. This phrase is commonly found in literature, poetry, and religious texts, and is used to express the number 70 in a more poetic or traditional manner. It is worth noting that this phrase is not commonly used in everyday modern English language and is more commonly encountered in historical or literary contexts. Would that make me two scores if I'm forty? In any case, the poem laments in a poetic way of what happened in those pat 71 years: "With all their chances, changes, losses, sorrows" From the second line, the speaker goes specific, "My parents' deaths, the vagaries of my
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz