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Richard Colbert Poem
i am an old man
when i look in the mirror
i don’t see me
a resemblance of my past
but know things aren’t
always what they seem
my skin is wrinkled and thin
i bruise easily
though not emotionally
my arms have spots not freckles
my sight and views are
becoming blurred and vague
choices made in my younger daze
left gaps between
my teeth and memory
i’m guarded about
revealing either one
the soles of my shoes flare
making it easier
to take things in stride
i have arch supports
so as not to be caught flat footed
the Cloud has
nothing to do with
information storage
but more the cause of
hide and seek with the
the sun and the past
i talk to myself
trying to get a consensus
to show i’m not crazy
the conversation
usually ends in a stalemate
and nobody wins
when i retired
everyday became Saturday
i start and finish
everything and nothing today
yesterday is gone
and tomorrow comes to quickly
when i look in the mirror
i see the lines i drew
in the sand and in my life
a resemblance of a past
maybe things are
what they appear to be
after all, i am an old man
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
it’s odd to be held hostage
by the same thing
at the same time
as the entire world
it’s put everyone
into darkness
the unknown
the unseen
one of the perils
of being a senior
is isolation
it’s ironic that
i’ve been asked to do
just that; isolate
shelter in place at home
go out only when necessary
avoid contact with others,
even family
unfortunately for a great many
that means little has changed
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
May your drives be long and true
Missed fairways, but a few
And when in a rough,
Be it not tall enough
To affect your follow through
May your approach shots miss every tree
Be straight and shank free
Your club selection right
To land it pin high
With a line easy to read
May the greens be not to slow or fast
Always dry, clean and flat
Do that thing you do
With putts no more than two
And no need for a lag
So it’s time to celebrate another year
Be it Feliz Navidad or New Years cheer
Have a good time
Golf buddy o’ mine
And play a round with these dimpled spheres
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
she never threw anything out
the driveway is filled
clothes hang on racks
hers on the left,
a few of his on the right
tables of her shoes
kitchenware, pots, pans
knickknacks, tchachka’s
souvenirs from long ago trips
some of the furniture
will go..there’s no need
for all of it now
the most valuable,
jewelry, some paintings
are in the garage
the money isn’t important
at this point
it doesn’t matter….
how can he put a price
on what’s been taken
his memories aren’t of
a particular dress or
pair of earrings she wore
he won’t look at a painting
or photograph of a trip
and think of her
he misses her smile,
the touch of her hand on his face
the look in her eyes,
how she curled up inside him
in bed at night, stealing his warmth
… when she spoke his name
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
when my life is done
i assume my soul
or immaterial part of my being,
will leave the physical structure
of bones and flesh
as the two part will i
have a chance to look at myself
see who i was
or as someone i
never got to know
or will they be the same
i’ve never been comfortable
in my own skin
literally and figuratively
mostly overweight,
rarely fit and never skinny
insecure often reticent
to express how i really feel,
what will i look like tomorrow
in some sort of box,
whole en route to a hole
or reduced to ashes
spread on the ocean
or in an urn, on a mantel
will i feel disconnected
more so than in life
unable to communicate
unable to be understood
did i make good use of my time
who decides that anyway
right now, today, i regret little
i believe every action in life
led me to where i am
right now, today,
i am mostly satisfied
but is satisfied enough
would i do my life over
if i had the chance,
and if so, would i change anything
what if i found out
this is as good as it gets
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
FIRST, THERE'S A NEED
“We have a lot of dust in the house. Where does it come from?
How do we prevent that?”
THE IDEA OR THOUGHT OR REMEDY
The idea or thought or remedy was seen or read about
on the internet, one of the communal websites.
“It says here that there is a device that will zap particles
and clean harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff,
including covid-19, from the air.
I think we need to add a particle sanitizer.”
With a limited amount of discussion but plenty
of internet encouragement, the contractor is called.
THE CONTRACTOR AND THE TRADE OFF
He installs the particle zapper and a filter 4 times
larger than the old filter. “More surface area, the greater
the filtration, less dust. The zapper is always on, scrubbing out
harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff
but the hvac fan needs to run. Your electric bill will go up,
that’s the trade off for cleaner, safer air.”
The system is upgraded.
HAPPY CAMPERS (BUT WE'RE NOT CAMPING)
Everyone is happy. Normally dust will settle on
surfaces within 2 days of dusting. 2 weeks now and nada, zip, nothing.
And the odors are gone, not that there were a lot to begin with.
In fact if the fellow who installed the zapper and filter
hadn’t told us about the odors, we wouldn’t have known we had them.
But that constant humming of the fan is annoying.
“Maybe we turn it off at night. it’s kind of loud at night”
“But what about cleaning the air? We’ll be only
eliminating 2/3 of the dust and only zapping 2/3 of
the harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff”.
THE POE EFFECT
At first I thought we’d get used to it and eventually not even hear it.
But she heard it all the time. I could live with it.
For me, it was like when I was in the Navy, being on board a ship.
It was only when the noise or humming stopped did I notice.
But she heard it, all the time, and said so, all the time.
The constant humming noise was becoming our ‘Tell-Tale Heart’
We agreed that we could turn it off once in awhile, specifically
when we had windows open.
THE GREAT COMPROMISE
After running the fan, off and on, for a month, we found that there
is probably no need to run it all the time. We run it during the day
and at night we shut it off, open windows and cool the house down.
We can live with that, I guess. It’s funny how one day the dust is a real health hazard and nuisance. A month later it’s hardly noticeable.
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2022
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Richard Colbert Poem
could i imagine
a life with you not in it
breathing with no air
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
you left without saying goodbye
sometimes no explanation
is the best thing to say
though, it must be hard
knowing that running
won’t help
a circle starts and ends in the same place
i’ve been round and round
a few times myself
i know the feeling
of shouting into an abyss
you think no one hears,
no one cares
i don’t know why and
where you’ve gone
but i’m in the circle
and i’ll hear if
you make a sound
i’ll be here when
you come around
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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Richard Colbert Poem
traveling in the
diamond lane
a 2 caret ride
to the Marquise Cut
it has a nice ring to it
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2022
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Richard Colbert Poem
i started tracking my weight, exercise, what i eat
every morning i do this little dance
with the bathroom scale
i get up, dress in the same thing,
weigh myself and subtract 4 pounds
some mornings if i don’t like the results
i will subtract another pound for the
cup of coffee i drank
doesn’t matter how big the cup was
if the results are still not favorable,
i will do my exercises, my walk,
then weigh myself
when the dance is over, i’ll log my weight
and threaten to buy a new scale
then i eat
Copyright © Richard Colbert | Year Posted 2021
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