Bingo and Rummikub
on today's agenda
exercise in the morning
kicking the giant beach ball
an elderly pastor sits
Bible open
white and purple-haired ladies
huddled close
listening for the Word
my host, voice shaking
her head jerking slightly
from a Parkinsonian tic
leads me outside
to brag about her musk melons
growing like an epidemic
in the resident garden
ripe for the picking
sweetness waiting
to be broken open
indulged
like ambrosia of the gods
there are peppers and
onions
tomatoes
and cucumbers
tilled faithfully
harvested and shared
giving slower days
the pleasure of accomplishment
I see the images of my own
many fears
of "me, someday"
the slow deterioration
uselessness of body
and often mind
a woman glides by
leaning on a walker
shoed with tennis balls
to make the trip smoother
she smiles at me
her wrinkles rearranging
around the relentless
sparkle in her rheumy eyes
then there's music
my host brightens
and grabs my arm
with arthritic fingers
leading me toward
the joyful sound
coming from a far corner
as if in another dimension
an old man slouched
over the keyboard
absorbed
fingers dancing on the keys
a distant smile
on his aged face
remembering, perhaps
a dance, a woman, a different life
tunes far too old
to be of my memory
perhaps WWI or II
a pub in France or Germany
a time, a moment
away from guns and bombs
romance amidst the ruins
joy amidst the sorrow
my host sways and claps
with delight
and I am taken with the music
the absolute joyful abandon
on the old man's face
so much joy amidst decay
dancing, at least in spirit
amdist arthritic joints
and edemic ankles
the little old ladies
on the couch,
resting from the journey
from dining hall to "home"
smile dreamily
feet tapping, heads
keeping time with the music
that takes them back
the old man
oblivious to an audience
playing for life
playing for relief
for not only remembering
but experiencing again
as if no time had passed
so cruelly upon his body
experiencing grace
love eternal and romantic
life against all odds
in defiance of death.
(I learned later that the piano player just turned 101).
