Too Late to Use

When lifting my foot was a pain

the coach said soak it up,

put weight on your other foot

fight through the soreness

Now lifting my foot is a daily torment

to bear among[image error] a multitude of indignities

as ache becomes a companion

not to fight or soak

But a daily reminder

I’m still alive,

a welcome partner

in a daily struggle

The pace of age can’t be gauged,

except in hairlines, waistlines,

sagging pants

and gasps for a share of air to breathe

Getting old is a conversation piece

a ploy to compare the wounds

of war and life, the daily struggle

how the young ignore and never learn

The lessons we should’ve taught them

but forgot, while we were burning bright

like them. The only school we know is life

and experience is a tough reminder.

Ruthless disregard, disrespect

and competitive drive,

the angry truths revealed in senescence

time to value, too old to use.