Talk

He grunts and groans, he pokes his nose
People shy away when he gets too close
In the gloom of dead company he sits alone
He appears withered away, but inside he hasn’t grown
He coaxes children to come out and play
But like their parents, they too shy away
‘You’re old and bald and bony’ they say
His neighbors claim he is too recluse
He isn’t recluse, they’re just confused
Don’t they see him waiting on his porch
For someone to come, anyone to come
Last time he spoke was when he said goodbye
While she lay helpless in her bed
Then one day she flew away into the sky
‘I love you’ was the last thing she said
After she stopped speaking, so did he
How can I talk when no one talks to me?
He wants to climb the bottle tree on the edge of the cliff
But his bones won’t let him, they’re just too stubborn
He can’t lift his head, his back is stiff
He wishes he was made of rubber
So that he could climb up the bark, look below at the frost
Stand at the end of a branch and push himself off
And fly towards the stars, because that is where she’ll be
But for now he cannot leave
He dialed numbers, he tapped on shoulders
Trying to gain the attention of others
When he heard laughter, he tried to inch closer
But the others were too busy, they just wouldn’t bother
His phone never rang, but one day it did
It was the doctor telling him he was sick
‘You’re going to be in pain. Do you have any family to help you out?’ the doctor said
No, the only family I had is dead
Month after month he got sicker and sicker
His cells began to divide, they just kept multiplying
Ivy tubes ran up and all over
He knew he was dying
Then one day when his cells decided to stop increasing in number
He closed his eyes and went into an eternal slumber
When he woke up again, he saw her sitting next to him
He couldn’t believe what he saw, he was still as a rock
Now he could listen to someone
And there was someone to listen to him… finally he could talk