He tells me how he’s divorced but it trails off. He mutters about “a lot of silly things” and I walk on face turned to the breeze not watching him ache. He was born in the same hospital as Spike Milligan - a claim to fame. We chuckle in our masks the hill making us both breathless. If you asked him a year ago he would never have dreamed he’d be living in aged care “I’m too young!” His ankles seem unreliable and his walking stick saves him from falling into a garden bed. but I don't look. I feel his cry deeply - how life can slap you sometimes its finger marks on your face its bird pooh in your hair the smell of fear like summer flies settling around you. Soon we say goodbye. He calls after me like it’s important “Where were you born?” but my answer doesn’t bring colour to his cheeks. I wish it was the same hospital as CJ Dennis.
Written for Miz Quickly’s Weekend Prompt
Write about an observation, eavesdrop, radio or tv moment…
Out of the Cave 
Thanks for the stroll. I like to think of my walking stick as a fashion item, but everyone who knows me knows otherwise. Have a GREAT weekend!
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Some walking sticks are really handsome. I must admit, I didn’t observe this one closely.
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Without having a clue who CJ Dennis is, I can appreciate this very well and sensitively observed poem.
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I second that.
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I third it!
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Thank you!
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Thanks!
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Thanks Jane. He’s a poet. Australian. 🙂
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A fine poem. Weak ankles are a curse for the elderly. Hip injuries. Broken wrists. Odds on that CJ Dennis was born at home. 🤣
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Lol. I googled it. I think you might be right. It just says he was born in Auburn, South Australia.
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I love the compassionate feeling of this poem and also how one can sniff the fear of old age. Excellent!
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Thanks, Ulle. 🙂
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A super poem. You capture the way that old age creeps up on you, exactly like an old person with a walking stick. Excellent stuff. 👍🙂
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🙂 thanks Hobbo
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This is excellent, Richard! Age takes us by surprise.
“its finger marks on your face
its bird pooh in your hair
the smell of fear
like summer flies
settling around you.”
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Glad you liked it! 🙂
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I like the straight forward narrative and the few imAGES; there’s much lurking in the background here {)
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Lurking? Sounds ominous. 🙂
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