Vegas, Parkland, And The Sacrifice Of The Young Poem by Doug Lane

Vegas, Parkland, and the sacrifice of the young

What sums up
the spirit
of old age?

The spirit of old age
is the feeling
of constantly
having to pee.

Having to pee
then
immediately
having
to pee
again.

What else
is the essence
of the spirit
of old age?

The spirit of old age
is the tick tick ticking
of a clock
saying time's almost,
time's almost,
time's up.

And what else?
A feeling of exhaustion
that the old
can't convey
to the young.
not the drained tank
which can be
refilled,
not even
going on fumes,
but the battery
which is not
rechargeable,
which is
dead forever.

Everything,
everything,
is spent.

And what else, pray tell.
Anything else?
Yes, the inability
to learn,
or change.
The mind
in withdrawal
from the world,
chasing its tail
round and round
its skull.
Summoning
ragged memories,
half truths,
and congratulating itself
on its wisdom.

And what else?
Anything else?
Transcendence, perhaps,
for a few.
But bitterness
and incomprehension,
doddering foolishness
and blithering idiocy,
2nd childhood,
forthe many.

Then what is the point,
is there any point,
in growing old?

An object,
given life,
tends to remain alive,
clings to life,
strives to live,
no matter how meaningless,
how destructive,
how parasitic or cannibalistic
its existence.

It can no more
willingly
let go of life,
return to nothingness,
than a gunner
can release
his grip
on his gun
with his cold,
dead,
hand.