A Pensioner

A Pensioner
An octogenarian - he moved to the retirement home
which promised all-year sun, blue sky, and sedate sea.

A grey, balding, and stooped figure, 
his gait is far from firm as he walks.
Panoramic vistas, crushed-cardboard like hills, 
frame the backdrop to his daily meanderings.  
His dim and distorted memories mimic 
the surrounding mountain range, hazily silhouetted against 
the sparse, cloud-strewn sky. 

A startled hare darts across the gravelly lane, 
to join a squad of exuberant fellows, charging headlong
into the shrub, tails held high – quick flashes of white.
Transfixed, he stops to admire the moor-hen crossing his path,
her brood of chicks faithfully following in line. 

The pomegranate grove sheds overripe fruit, 
sighs with relief, longing for hibernation.
Artichokes, green and bright, proudly claim eagerness to be picked 
to make room for a different crop.

Rebirth and renewal, the pattern of seasons,
calibrate the remaining years, (months and days), for this old man.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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Agustin Avatar
August 29, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Thanks for sharing this... exposing your thoughts through your unique poetic style. Meanwhile, I greet you with the love of the Lord, expressed by John 3:16 of the Bible, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Be blessed.
Krutsinger Avatar
March 11, 2021 at 1:16 PM
Wonderful imagery! Metaphors are so pronounced and well done also! Wow! "His dim and distorted memories mimic the surrounding mountain range, hazily silhouetted against the sparse, cloud-strewn sky. " WOW!
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