[ Geriatric ] Poem by Garathe Den

He wore a very course fabric
That Geri 'Ole' Atric
So many looked past
The display of that habit
Just grumbled emphatic
A rasp all in static
And gummed on hard candy
All day if he had it

His shoes were long-trotted
The laces all knotted
His pants cuffed so high
Revealing ankles all spotted
His belt-buckle prodded
From the leather dry-rotted
And the handkerchief tucked in his shirt
Was all wadded

His knuckles were swollen
His nose and ears growing
His wobbly knees
Prone to buckles and bowing
Each day he was slowing
Yet kept on foregoing
And he walked with a cane
Else he'd surely be fallen

His eyes had dimmed-vision
His hearing imprisoned
All senses abandoned
And failing their mission
Yet each day had ambition
To rise with precision
Just to sit on his porch
And glare at kids with suspicion

He had trouble walking
And breathing while talking
And all of his teeth
We're indentured in caulking
His joints were all knocking
His jaw prone to locking
And just like his shoes
He had holes in his stockings

On the days he'd go out
There was never a doubt
That he'd check on the lawns
By which ever which route
And such things he would scout
Like the cracks in the grout
And let each neighbor know
Of their faults with a shout

And the children would scamper
When they'd hear him come stamper
And even the dogs
Would go hide in a damper
And no matter the manner
Seemed all life tend to scatter
And just saying his name
Was a tool used to hamper

So now when you get old
And you start to erode
And your mind just forgets
Everything you've been told
I hope you feel consoled
Knowing you'll be so bold
Just like Geri 'Ole' Atric
And the life he yet holds

©HeartOfBabel