He pensively sat at his desk with a quill pen and tub of dark ink,
Holding the feather in his withered hand helped him to think.
The soft radiance from the candle's lamp lulled the lonely old man,
As he covered his thin legs and shoulders with a tattered worn afghan.
His life seemed to have passed by him a good while ago;
He now had little left of which to crow...
Just a fracture of the virile force he used to be made him wince
But memories reminded him that he once was a prince!
"Don't count me out just yet," he declared.
"My life still has meaning and I'm not one bit scared!"
"I've always been a gambler and have an ace (or two) up my sleeve."
"I'll write all my stories down, be young again, and then you'll believe!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This has been for Poppy's #9 Prompt
About the Creator
Shirley Belk
Mother, Nana, Sister, Cousin, & Aunt who recently retired. RN (Nursing Instructor) who loves to write stories to heal herself and reflect on all the silver linings she has been blessed with :)
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Comments (8)
Shirley, this is cool....and had me thinking of Kenny Roger's The Gambler. An excellent write.
This is so beautiful 💙… I especially like the beginning: “ He pensively sat at his desk with a quill pen and tub of dark ink, Holding the feather in his withered hand helped him to think.”👍🏼.. but the optimistic end too.✅
"My life still has meaning and I'm not one bit scared!" I wish I could say the same for myself. Loved your poem!
Lovely! Great effortless rhyming!
His defiance reminds me a bit of Dylan Thomas’ Do not go gentle into that good night (rage, rage against the dying of the light). Like Rachel I love the atmosphere that you created of an old man remembering his youth. Very poignant, Shirley!
Dear Chum ~ "Don't let the light go out! It's lasted for so many years! - Don't let the light go out! Let it shine through our hope and our tears." - ~ An Old Guy ~
I loved this, Shirley. The whole atmosphere of it was great.
A very deep and optimistic poem. At the same time, it shows the hands of the clock that have rusted and begins to clean them. The old pocket watch will live forever because it does not lose its value. 🥰