A Meditation on Aging...

I saw him stumble and reach out for my hand
one so sure-footed that others had always reached out for his.
I heard him panting and gasping for breath
one so strong that it had appeared he never rested.
I felt him grasp tightly, my arm for balance
one so independent that he had seemed to need no help
I saw him tear up as he reflected on of his life
one so driven that he’d seldom looked back
I heard him talk about the feelings and hurt
one so formidable that we’d never considered his pain
I felt him turning spiritual and philosophical
one so practical that he had appeared only to see the material.

He thinks today’s is the last suit he’ll ever buy
a man who seldom acknowledged endings
He recapped simple instructions as we drove
a man who knows how to do everything
He said things that are obvious and apparent
a man who had little patience with chit-chat.
He thanked me today for a suit I bought him
a man who bought me every suit I’ve ever owned
He wondered aloud why people are mean
a man who was not overly given to sensation or emotion
He labored up the stairs very slowly, deliberately
a man who had moved easily with time and space

I see him moving deliberately, hesitantly onto that path
on which hesitance and deliberation are the order of the day
I watch him struggling with decisions and direction
and wonder if he precieves what a force he used to be
I recognize that a twinkle somewhere in his being might be fading
a twinkle that lit a spark that burned the flame that empowered his being.

And yet here we are
him, having to live it all down one uncertain day at a time
me, learning about aging as I watch him,
One teaching moment at a time...