Old Man With a Cane

around the concrete floor I walk

one step at a time...  slowly and

with a cane to steady...  back

muscles tense and ache while the

knees hold steady and firm...  my

free arm acts as a balance as I

glide around the inside balcony,

looking over at the old folks

playing some kind of paddle ball

and then realize I am an old folk

too...  not so much embarrassing

as it is why I lived this long and

for what purpose was this existence;

memories flow in and out as around

this rink I walk, feeling the air on my

face as other walkers, faster than me,

pass me by without so much as a 

glance in my direction to see how I

might be doing with my slow walking,

and then take pity on me as if I were

some old man with a cane...  dozens

of years I walked unnoticed, around

the neighborhood, up and down the

maze of interconnecting roads through

the community...  and, not once did

anyone pay attention as I passed them

by, letting them feel my wind in their

faces...  life has a way of hunbling

both the best and worst of us, as we

find ourselves getting closer to our

own sunset...  but today, I am walking

slowly with a cane in the hopes that

in a few short weeks my labors will

be rewarded - my life will resume.

24 June 2022