Ernie...... Poem by RIC BASTASA

a long time
and now here you are with all these gray hairs,
and you confess
that at this age all that you want to do is listen

it is unlikely that you write
for their will be more corrections and it will really take
a whole lifetime to
finish and
remove all these errors

you watch Fox News everyday
have more time for Hollywood movies
and the local news

you don't go for a walk anymore in the boulevard to
breathe salty air
it does not interest you

old friends are forgotten
they are of no use somehow

what is normal for you
and routine is this need for an injection of insulin

when others talk you always look at your watch
and as you move a glass of cola falls upon your stomach
lots of lapses this time
and oh, as usual, you have become so mortal
so human

i am a writer
a poet Ernie and will always be both.

and so here i am again,
babbling, exploring,
experimenting where to
put monotony
and make it appear so beautiful
like an ordinary weed beside
a cheap flower
as a centerpiece of the interior part
of the renovated
living room in the house of a long dead
friend.....