The Man Across The Street (Fate's Fingertips) Poem by Molly LaBelle

The Man Across the Street

The man across the street died last weekend.
He was seventy years old, found in his backyard.
Cause of death: heart attack.

Two years ago,
When his mother took the same fate,
They apologized and all he said was
“Eh, she was old.”
The man was
A r r o g a n t
They said.
Two years ago,
The man’s heart stopped
Twenty times
For no reason at all
And the man in the white coat
Brought him back.
When he woke up,
He was new.
The man was
W o n d e r f u l
They said.

Don’t forget that fate has you by its fingertips,
I said.