The Elder

The look of youth has passed my eyes Come furrowed brow and withered skin Hair thin, bright eyes gone dim What will become of me now? Swaddled in warm linen Drive the chill from feeble bones Teas, hot oils and liniments These aromas fill my home The shell I wore is no more With deafened ear and eye so blind Brittle bones and muscles sore Prompting life to pass the time Pace unsteady, twisted spine These hands of mine will work no more Fatigued and spent, take to my bed My youth to find me never more All so precious to me now Things cast aside in early hours What a waste! Relive this taste A second chapter to devour Heart now lonely, cold and stalled House so silent, ever still Hear the clock~tick tock tick tock Gaze out from the windowsill No more visits, no more calls My wife long gone and buried deep Now welcome death with open arms My soul shall seek eternal sleep