Old Man With a Heavy Load

An old man plods slowly down the rutted middle Of an ancient dusty country lane, unmindful of his steps. His calloused sandaled feet know the way, As he has trodden this path to market for decades, Or centuries perhaps, He no longer tries, or cares, to remember. Time has lost all meaning. Bowed beneath the heavy weight of years and toil, He wears the mantle of his life, Not proudly as he once did in his hopeful youth, But now the way he bears his cumbersome burden Of broken limbs and sticks and twigs, With a resigned and weary sadness as immutable and maimed As the arthritic stumps and knees of old cypress trees, Or countless other old withered and withering men Like him. Author's note: This piece, dear readers, was inspired by "Man with a Sack of Wood", a sketch by Vincent van Gogh.