An old man hobbled into the park
And sat down on our bench.
He laid aside his crutch
And told us he felt fine;
Though he had been diagnosed
As both diabetic
And hypertensive.
He claimed to have told his doctor,
"Our blood and tears are both saline,
But life is sweet".
The doctor, who came later,
Told us the old man was his strangest case.
That limping grandpa had been weighed
And not found wanting.
He had kicked the weighing machine,
Then thrown down his crutch
And briskly stalked away, muttering,
'But Life is sweet".
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
A phenomenal old man who reminds me of the protagonist of Earnest Hemingway's Old man and the Sea! He proclaims to the world.....'Man is not for defeat! A man can be destroyed, but not defeated'! Inspite of all his bodily infirmities, he has an indomitable will and the zest to live! I like the lines; Our blood and tears are both saline, But life is sweet.