Age batters me

With a hammer built

For hitting life.

Every swing,

Another chunk of time

Going deeper into the ground.

Your face was red

And eyes tired

And life was draining from your mouth.

We always face the world

Alone,

Don’t we?

We always face the world alone,

Even in a world full of people.

Time is a vacuum,

And the friction of passing

Seconds

Is boredom.

The smiles and eyes

Of the past come

And make loneliness real.

The jade and shudder of plants

Or the overbearing sun are both

Powerless

To fight against this rot.