Getting the Lay of Old Age
How could I not remember
in this alien land of old age
one of us dies
she in saddle shoes and jumpers
I in cowboy boots and chaps
dead to paper dolls
dead to toy soldiers
who the faster runner
who the better shot
which secrets sacred
which not
the weather was good
the weather was bad
time passed quickly
time dragged on
one of us dies
left to wander this strange
land of the living dead
pinning could-be memories
on reluctant bones
one of us always dies
how could I not remember
I remember so little of before.
Darrell Petska is a retired university engineering editor and three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His poetry appears in Verse-Virtual, 3rd Wednesday Magazine, Chiron Review, Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts Magazine, and widely elsewhere (conservancies.wordpress.com). Father of five and grandfather of seven, he lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife of more than 50 years.
How could I not remember
in this alien land of old age
one of us dies
she in saddle shoes and jumpers
I in cowboy boots and chaps
dead to paper dolls
dead to toy soldiers
who the faster runner
who the better shot
which secrets sacred
which not
the weather was good
the weather was bad
time passed quickly
time dragged on
one of us dies
left to wander this strange
land of the living dead
pinning could-be memories
on reluctant bones
one of us always dies
how could I not remember
I remember so little of before.
Darrell Petska is a retired university engineering editor and three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His poetry appears in Verse-Virtual, 3rd Wednesday Magazine, Chiron Review, Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts Magazine, and widely elsewhere (conservancies.wordpress.com). Father of five and grandfather of seven, he lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife of more than 50 years.
