Mark Springer | + Follow Poet |
Lyric | + Fav Poem | Comment | Email | Print |

The last verse is not the song

Jack sits in the wheelchair in the grass
a rebel nerd, he thinks of the time
when he cycled up Teton Pass
by a stream through walls of pine

Obsessed, this viewpoint vampire
his memory full of hill and vale
A landscape loon, an odd desire
But now his body is his jail

The harried nurse to her surprise
Distracted from a patient's cries
sees a vision in Jack's fogged eyes
lakes and forests and crimson skies

[chorus]
In each scene, views so grand
At six thousand feet, he biked along
Never quite reached the Promised Land
But the last verse is not the song

Kate sits in the same old age home
A relic from a bygone show 
Her friends long dead, she's now alone
Her melody no longer on the radio

She was warm and could be all heart
Now a meteor in afterburn
She knows that bodies fall apart
Resigned or not, the wheel must turn.

[outro]
Jack and Kate were luckier than some
They were free, knew right from wrong
They lived a long life, and had their fun
The last verse is not the song.

Please Login to post a comment

Hilda Greenhough Date: 5/23/2024 8:21:00 PM A sad ending for many people. Thank you for this look upon end of life. Login to Reply Mark Springer Date: 5/24/2024 2:05:00 AM Thank you for the comment. I showed this poem to a few people before posting it, and they were uncertain about it, especially verse #2. I knew a man in his youth who was a cyclist over the Alps before it was fashionable. He went to Cambridge, became a famous physicist, and ended up in a nearby old age home. I knew another man who used to hike in the Alps himself, became a rich businessman, and then his mind faded. He lived over a 100, but he wasn't 'there'. I've known a Geographer whose encyclopedic knowledge was lost in steps because of ministrokes. It's truly tragic.

Silent One Date: 5/23/2024 10:11:00 AM These lyrics tell a poignant story of two individuals, Jack and Kate, reflecting on their lives and experiences as they spend their later years in an old age home. The narrative intertwines themes of memory, loss, and the inevitability of aging, contrasted with the vibrant lives they once led. The opening lines introduce Jack, who sits in a wheelchair, reminiscing about cycling up Teton Pass. This imagery of natural beauty and physical activity sharply contrasts with his current immobility Login to Reply

Kim Rodrigues Date: 5/23/2024 9:42:00 AM Very interesting, Mark! Indeed, great in lyric and love the title and muse of the poem. We sit in our rockers or wheelchairs, the wind at our backs, barely reminiscing, wishing we were back on the precipice, could hear the new, old lyrics to our favorite songs. I served at a home, and thought what might be in the head of the nearly deaf and memory care patients. I will see them in heaven… Login to Reply Mark Springer Date: 5/24/2024 1:53:00 AM Thank you. I've also seen the end of life for a few of my relatives, and it was heartbreaking.