Walking Through My Future

Walking Thru My Future

The doors slide open at the old folks home

as I raise my mask to cover my nose-

I'm inside, now, and out of the rain,

wiping my glasses with my shirt again.

Wheelchairs, walkers, scooters and canes,

I get all the same smiles when they see me again.

this joint houses the more fortunate few-

the much better-off and the well-to-do.

The aisles are sometimes longer

than the words to any song-

They decorate their doorways

until their memory's packed and gone.

Wedding pictures, grandkids,

tables full of seasonal joy-

It's all a black-and-white movie

and I'm just a little boy.

I'm walking through my future,

yet it's like walking on the moon-

thinking about the ticking clock,

and my friends gone way too soon-

"Hello In There" I say with a smile,

when they open up that door-

and often, they don't realize,

I've been there many times before.

With just a bit of comfort,

to bring that little bit of joy-

I don't feel close to seventy,

because I'm still that little boy-

I share my smiles with strangers

although they see me every week-

I'm that glimpse outside their doorway

and my smile is theirs to keep.

The elevator's empty now,

and reality is much too real-

I'll sign out at the front desk,

and the thoughts are mine to feel.

The sunshine almost blinds me,

another second in these changing times,

dry leaves blow through those sliding doors-

as their memories blend with mine.