That old man in the chair
with the still, spotted hands
hunched over on his porch
and gazing into nowhere.
His youth has ran,
on the ground he lands.
No one seems to care,
and onto them, his dead eyes stare.
Almost withered, the lean, leafless flower
Smiles in half of twigless green
Like an aged woman
Banished from the heaven of beauty--
Smiling as a gesture to shower, in vain,
The sprinkles of youthfulness of expired skin,
Rusting in ageing bony pits
As if left in lurch like an exploded balloon!
......
Unvarnished and worn by age
see it slouch by the wall,
its silence sharper than the kitchen knives.
We rely on something or someone sturdy.
Facing the candlelight at meals, he holds her
to resist the decay of ashwood
until it breaks at its last supper.
He knows where the kindling goes.
......
A scowl...
With hands on face
We are marked,
Stalked… and prey
Ticking away in escape
It cannot be saved
Moments pass behind us
Now becomes then
......
'Who are you? ' she asks.
'I'm Rick, ' I say.
'That's funny, ' she says. 'I have a son named Rick.'
She stares at me.
'You look something like him.'
'Mom, I'm your son Rick.'
'Oh, my Rick! ' she exclaims.
She reaches out her hand, and I take it gently.
It's cold and I can see blue veins just beneath the skin.
'How are you doing, Mom? '
......
On Growing Old (Apology to W.B. Yeats)
The very idea
of being old
is comforting
time for renouncing-
nothing weighty
anymore to hold-
past stories
......
A scowl...
With hands on face
We are marked,
Stalked… and prey
Ticking away in escape
It cannot be saved
Moments pass behind us
Now becomes then
......
With age I’ve grown tired,
weary but not insane.
My bones are rather achy,
but my heart is too humane.
At night my vision is blurry,
with pills I kill my pain.
My hearing aid does help,
for sound to reach my brain.
But offensive words do fall,
......
Unvarnished and worn by age
see it slouch by the wall,
its silence sharper than the kitchen knives.
We rely on something or someone sturdy.
Facing the candlelight at meals, he holds her
to resist the decay of ashwood
until it breaks at its last supper.
He knows where the kindling goes.
......
Though the day I had at it's fill
Only you the one come by my way
And rather the old friends did conceal
Behind curtain, on the day.
Later Sun rise, after all, on you
Half hidden from the shine I call
As the withered leaves by dew
Restore itself, next to fall.
......