Paralysis

The younger man was paralyzed by time
And all of its potential for despair.
The older man is faded and aware
Of every creaking moment in this rhyme;
He scans the pit for purchases to climb,
Yet sees no tools at hand but words threadbare
And rotten, relics of a dull fanfare
That died to join its dusty paradigm.

The younger man was foolish and afraid;
The older man is foolish and alone.
He sees too well that methods of the past
Have slipped from every wall and now unbraid
Like tapestries forgotten in a zone
Where tombs are undiscovered and sealed fast.

-- Tuesday night, July 15, 2014.