The Old Mans Story

ALONE AND FORGOTTEN, THIS OLD MAN WANDERED AROUND, THROUGH GUTTERS AND ALLEYWAYS, ALONE IN THIS TOWN. ONCE, HE WAS WEALTHY, OR AT LEAST HAD SOME DOE, BUT WHY HE LEFT IT BEHIND; NO ONE SEEMED TO KNOW. VISITING THE BARS AND DRINKING THEIR WINE, EVERYONE KNEW IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME. TILL HE’D LEAVE THIS WORLD, ALONE AND DISTRAUGHT, HE WAS OLD AND WEARY AND COLDS HE HAD CAUGHT. HE SAT BY OUR FIRE, DOWN HERE IN THE DUMPS, LISTENING TO OUR TALES, ABOUT LIFES LITTLE BUMPS. HE LISTENED INTENTLY, AND GAZED AT THE GUYS, AS THEY TOLD OF THEIR DEEDS, MAYBE SOME EVEN TOLD LIES. WELL, HE SAT DOWN HIS COFFEE, AND CLEARED HIS ROUGH THROAT, WE LISTENED INTENTLY, AS HIS VOICE WAS WIRY WITH A CROAK. HE TOLD OF A CHILDHOOD, SAID LAUGHTER FILLED THE HALLS, OF THEIR OLD WOODEN HOUSE, WITH CRACKS IN THE WALLS. HOLES IN THE FLOOR, COULD SEE CLEAN TO THE DIRT, THEN A TEAR STARTED FORMING AS IF IT WOULD HURT. BUT ON HE DID GO, TELLING OF THINGS THAT HE DID, MOSTLY OF HAPPIER DAYS, BACK WHEN HE WAS A KID. SURE, I’VE HAD BAD TIMES, THEY WEIGHED MANY TONS IT WAS NOT ANYBODIES FAULT, I BROUGHT IT ON. SEE, I ONCE HAD A WIFE, TWO CHILDREN AND ALL, PLANTED A GARDEN IN THE SPRING AND HARVESTED IN THE FALL. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY WAY BACK THERE, THEN, BUT I WANTED MORE, MORE MONEY, MORE FRIENDS. SO I LEFT THE SIMPLE LIFE, VENTURED INTO THE WORLD, SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, I LOST MY BOY AND MY GIRL. MY WIFE TOOK THEM BACK HOME TO THE FARM, BUT I COULDN’T STAND THE QUIETNESS, SEEMED TO DO HARM. HARM TO MY IMAGE, A MAN OF HIGH ESTEEM, BUT MY WIFE SAID I HAD LOST MY ETERNAL DREAM. I HAD PROMISED HER LOVE AND WE WOULD STAY THE SAME, AS FARMER AND WIFE WITH LITTLE TO GAIN. BUT I WANTED MORE, MY VEINS BOILED WITH GREED, SHE SAID SHE HAD EVERYTHING SHE WOULD EVER NEED. EXCEPT FOR THE MAN WHO PROMISED HER LOVE, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD FROM HEAVEN ABOVE. BUT SOMEHOW I WOULDN’T LISTEN, MY MIND ALREADY SET, I WAS LOOKING FOR RICHES, SOMETHING A FARMER COULDN’T GET. SO I LEFT THEM ALONE, AND PACKED UP MY THINGS, I LEFT HER A NOTE AND LEFT HER MY RINGS. I WENT BACK TO THE CITY, MADE MONEY UNTOLD, BUT I LOST MORE THAN RICHES, EVEN MORE THAN GOLD. I LOST EVERYTHING THIS WORLD COULD EVER KNOW, AND NOW I DRINK MY WINE OUT HERE IN THE COLD. SOMEHOW I KNOW THEY MISS ME, BUT I’M TOO ASHAMED TO GO BACK, CAUSE ALL I HAVE TO SHOW THEM IS THE SHIRT ON MY BACK. SO GENTLEMEN, YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO START OVER AND DO RIGHT, STAND UP, ACT LIKE REAL MEN, STAND UP AND FIGHT. FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM, DON’T WIND UP LIKE ME, ALONE AND DEPRESSED, I JUST WOULDN’T SEE. I WANTED MORE THAN MY NEEDS WOULD EVER ALLOW, AND NOW I’M MISERABLE AND I’LL LEAVE YOU NOW. BUT LISTEN REAL CAREFUL TO WHAT I WILL SAY, YOU KEEP LIVING THIS LIE, YOU’LL WIND UP LIKE ME ONE DAY. THE OLD MAN LEANED OVER, AS IF TO PRAY, BUT THEN WE NOTICED THAT HE WAS COLD AND GRAY. HIS LAST BREATH OF LIFE HAD LEFT WITH HIS QUOTE, AND MADE ALL US WONDER, IT’S TRUE WHAT HE SPOKE. I WONDER IF HE’D STAYED DOWN ON THE FARM, WOULD HIS LIFE HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT, COZY AND WARM. I WONDER?