The old man is like a crumpled doll,
his body played with by the time almighty
worn out like a stringy ball
or a mouse made of cloth, torn apart
by the sharp claws of a cat
His face is shady from stubs turned gray
his eyes are tired and dim
like he spent the night in a frenzy
with a hangover etched on his face
after partying with Death
I hate when my path crosses the paths
of old people
I hate their sneers of bonhomme,
their erect strut, their polite rectitude,
they expect a long, wide greeting,
a positive attitude
with a nicely shaped smile on display,
they seem constantly available
to make conversation,
Hello, they say
it’s a beautiful day!
Hello, I hear the old man say,
It’s a wonderful day, eh?
while his dog wags its tail
looks up at me,
with pitiful eyes, with eyesight frail
like cheering with his master
that soon you too
will be dead,
yoo-hoo!
I hate that I can’t say in return
Go away, leave me alone,
It’s not too long
Since I’ve been born!
That would counter
my disgust with the old man and his dog
the unexpected encounter
with my own timely destruction
lurking in the fog of a morning bore
on a lifeless street,
deserted, devoid of any action
The old man stares into my eyes
And smiles
Like he knows something about me
that I don’t know
that’s the way
he looks at me
that’s the way
his dog looks at me
and I think
Gee!
This is getting gloomy.
And suddenly I realize
that in ten years from now
both the old man
and his dog
will be memories
in someone’s mind
if lucky,
and in twenty years
from now
I will be memories
in someone’s mind,
if lucky
And it dawns on me
that I am kin to the old man
and his dog
we share the same to be
we are time neighbors
huddled together under the tiny roof
of what people call being alive,
to please the Creator, arrogant, aloof,
life,
this eternity trickery,
this cosmic error,
this godly mockery,
soon to collapse
in a silent implosion
of sunken memories
of unfinished trips,
of missed loves,
of unkissed lips
And that makes me take pity
In the old man,
in his dog,
in me,
and that makes me say:
Hi!
It is indeed a wonderful day!
his body played with by the time almighty
worn out like a stringy ball
or a mouse made of cloth, torn apart
by the sharp claws of a cat
His face is shady from stubs turned gray
his eyes are tired and dim
like he spent the night in a frenzy
with a hangover etched on his face
after partying with Death
I hate when my path crosses the paths
of old people
I hate their sneers of bonhomme,
their erect strut, their polite rectitude,
they expect a long, wide greeting,
a positive attitude
with a nicely shaped smile on display,
they seem constantly available
to make conversation,
Hello, they say
it’s a beautiful day!
Hello, I hear the old man say,
It’s a wonderful day, eh?
while his dog wags its tail
looks up at me,
with pitiful eyes, with eyesight frail
like cheering with his master
that soon you too
will be dead,
yoo-hoo!
I hate that I can’t say in return
Go away, leave me alone,
It’s not too long
Since I’ve been born!
That would counter
my disgust with the old man and his dog
the unexpected encounter
with my own timely destruction
lurking in the fog of a morning bore
on a lifeless street,
deserted, devoid of any action
The old man stares into my eyes
And smiles
Like he knows something about me
that I don’t know
that’s the way
he looks at me
that’s the way
his dog looks at me
and I think
Gee!
This is getting gloomy.
And suddenly I realize
that in ten years from now
both the old man
and his dog
will be memories
in someone’s mind
if lucky,
and in twenty years
from now
I will be memories
in someone’s mind,
if lucky
And it dawns on me
that I am kin to the old man
and his dog
we share the same to be
we are time neighbors
huddled together under the tiny roof
of what people call being alive,
to please the Creator, arrogant, aloof,
life,
this eternity trickery,
this cosmic error,
this godly mockery,
soon to collapse
in a silent implosion
of sunken memories
of unfinished trips,
of missed loves,
of unkissed lips
And that makes me take pity
In the old man,
in his dog,
in me,
and that makes me say:
Hi!
It is indeed a wonderful day!
