Puny creatures leading paltry lives
Trying to redeem our aged souls.
Nothing is what it seems to be.
Deceptive paths, trick-filled roads.
Care places with no care.
Canes that bend, chairs break.
Falls bring on finality, hamper
Our walk toward what wishes were.
Decide, once and for all,
Is living the heart of the matter
or is it reserved for its soul.
Question where we went astray
Forgetting to retrieve the golden ring
This time round riding perpetual sadness.
Is it the last note played on a reedy oboe
While a Queen of Hearts snores nearby.
Will the worth of a minute, a day, or year
outweigh the pain each second brings with it.
Can you wait while daughters squabble,
Lawyers sit in silence pretending papers
Hold the answer who controls what’s left
And all the while The Loneliness
Like a shoreside siren beguiles us.

Charlene James-Duguid
Amissville, Virginia