I set out to write this poem and I had a simple plan.
I'd avoid all things prosaic and I'd do the best I can
To optimize the content and the grammar and the rhyme
And of course I'd tell a story that would echo for all time
...
When I scurry about on a rainy day
Acting annoyed at the rain
I sometimes remember a time far away
When I viewed raindrops with no disdain
...
I still remember my first kiss though fourty years have passed
The beauty of the moment and the thrill will ever last
Etched into my memory as words into a stone
Clearer than the clearest night that I have ever known
...
As I look out upon October leaves
And brown grass weathered by the Autumn sun
I see the shafts of light a bare branch cleaves
And so much of creation now undone
...
As I go through life I understand
The changes that my body must endure
And as for me I've learned how to withstand
My aging as I pass through every door
...
I learned today that I am almost dead
Although I've felt but just a little pain
The cancer in my lung went to my head
And life for me will never be the same
...
Now at the age of sixty, I am quite prepared to die
I am neither old nor sickly but have no reason to try
To add another decade for no purpose or no gain
As I've had all the experiences I wanted to attain
...
How is it at the age of sixty I am still alone
Each day walking, eating, sleeping always on my own
How did I miss the partnership that most of us attain
My only walking partner seems to be my walking cane
...