Closer

Death seems to stalk me now.
Or it is only now, that I have
crested the top of this big ride,
that I look over my shoulder and
see his head peeking around every
corner behind me. Names in
obituaries never used to have
my number next to them. Now,
the numbers are even smaller
than mine. I hear his footsteps
every day, and every day I stop
to listen ... and every day they
sound just a tiny bit closer.

Author's Note

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

This is the price of getting older I suppose. My dad used to read those obits everyday and you are right death seems less abstract and more corporeal the older you get. We all know we can't outrun him but he creeps into our thoughts more often as we read those names and ages in the death notices.

Names in
obituaries never used to have
my number next to them. Now,
the numbers are even smaller
than mine. I hear his footsteps
every day, and every day I stop
to listen ... and every day they
sound just a tiny bit closer.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Thank you for popping in. You always seem to pick right up on my vibe. I saw in the paper where a Major League baseball umpire died early this week just a few days after having done a playoff game. You could have bowled me over with a drinking straw when I saw that he was 48 ... I am 53. Every day there is some reminder that Mr. death can come for you tomorrow. (I make sure to put on clean underwear every day. I do not wish to be found in a ... "soiled" state.).

[Craig2591]

The graphic goes well with the poem. Yeah, I can identify with this. I'm not old, but I'm not young anymore either. Nice poem. Very straight forward. I like that.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Thank you sir. I appreciate the visit and the kind words.