Day by day, as time goes by,
Both sun and moon cross o’er the sky,
The clock is ticking, too loud by far,
And time is passing, like a shooting star.
What then am I to do, today,
As I watch with awe, life slip away?
My world has changed in the past few years,
As each of my faculties disappears,
My strength has waned, my patience, too,
My skin has patches of black & blue.
The hearing, which once was fine,
Has reduced itself to a continuous whine,
The eyesight, sharp and clear before,
Has left one eye with a fatal flaw.
The meals I used to love so much,
Reduced themselves to such and such,
No taste buds left to enjoy each bite
No need for food, no appetite.
It seems as though the very core
Of my bodily frame is now unsure
Of the purpose for which it’s meant
I’m getting shrivelled and quite bent.
The legs I praised, for many a mile,
Refuse to function in their usual style,
They’re like a weight imposed on me,
Each one feels like an old oak tree.
My lungs are full of water now,
My breathing sounds like a lonesome cow,
The heart is weak and very frail
No chance of hiking the West Coast Trail.
A necessary walk from the kitchen to “john”
Is like hiking miles with lead boots on.
What used to be done, in a minute or so
Now forces me to “go with the flow”
And slow down carefully, take my time
And reach my goal, end of this rhyme!
So, farewell all, especially wife,
I really have enjoyed my life.
Ralph Meyer, Sechelt
