Sadly, it's been quite a while since we've had any poetry to post, especially any from such a talented writer, but now our dry spell is over as The Free Choice E-zine is proud to present
"Just Old Folks" by Nancy A. Hansen
Will you recall for me
Who I was long ago
What surprises life once held?
For I have forgotten again
No matter how many times
The story is told
It is always as new now
As it was back then
When I first lived it…
As their shaking hands reach out
Their hearts are in their eyes
Some have forgotten speech
Or even how to cry
Some can’t walk anymore
Some don’t remember a thing
No name or place
Not much at all
It would seem, nothing
Of who and what they were
Survived the journey
From youth to here
Who they loved and what they did
For all those lost years
Now gone…
When we were just kids
Oblivious to the idea
That this is life’s reward
At the end of days
To lose the self
In an endless maze
Of clinical sameness
We forgot to tell anyone
Who were all the names and faces
In the decaying photo albums
And of the fun we had then
The faith that sustained us
Now all is lost…
So as I walk by
I smile and pat a graying head here
A thin and bony shoulder there
Any small kindness bestowed
To those in walkers and wheelchairs
Comes back one-hundred-fold
In a toothless smile or three
Where some see just old folks
Sitting in the halls
I look around
And I see us all…
I see you and me
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