aging – Shift Key

Makeup

There are scars people can see.
They don’t hurt as much as the
scars people can’t see.

You wear them well. For now.
We all have scars. I guess it just
depends on what we do with them.

Time will pass. Some will still
stare at your figure. Others will
gawk at your good looks.

Most won’t see past the exterior
glaze. I thought, “Sexy. But looks
pretty hard. Not for me!”

Can’t you see that the makeup you
wear doesn’t cover up a thing?

As we get older, our bodies wear
the character of our souls.

In the park, there’s a fountain with a bronze bird.
The bench where he sits doesn’t have his name on it,
but it should. This is where he comes on the clear
days. He always sits there by the reading fountain.

I never walked through the park before he’d arrive
or after he’d left. Definitely his bench! He always
wore a plaid cap with a snap in front, cocked way
back on his head. And the same sweater.

If I get to be that old, will I wear sweaters in June?
The heat doesn’t faze him a bit. He reads as though
New York City wasn’t there. He reads now as he
wished he could have done years ago.

Tag Archives: aging

Makeup

The Reading Fountain