New Tricks Of The Trade Poem by Robert Wylie

He is still there, the leaf-sweeper,
But, older now,
No wiser, but older

He has learned new tricks
Of the trade,
Elements of his craft,
Smaller heaps
Spread across the garden,
Punctuating the pathways,
Piling-up the leaves,
And spreading thin his time.

The cardiganed days are closer,
But he will continue, yet, to wear
The jeans that came late in his life,
Too tight for his comfort,
Not the usual gardeners garb,
But a lifeline
When the going of
Making the best of things
Gets tough.