A Boy That Lived Forever Poem by Pen Anthony

It is not like me
To be in the company of the old
I find them grumpy at times
Till i found myself in the cold
Typical of that time of the year
That day i found something worth more than gold.

The day had had a faux heat to it
A sweater on a jacket would have been overkill
I went about my day
Upto then the weather had lived to its promise
My date arrived
I was sitted near the entrance

More and more people
Came into the cafe
But not for the good coffee they served
The skies had let in
It was suddenly raining and cold outside
The spot at the entrance was perfect
For i liked watching raindrops

Something else caught my eye
An old man
Walking not to shelter
But into the open rain
His arms widespread
Eyes upon the skies

The rain fell on him
He seemed to enjoy it
Strangely the rain seemed to pacify him
He enjoyed it
Now more pairs of eyes were on him
At the suggestion he might be unstable
I took my date's umbrella

I walked up to him
He never noticed me
Till i put an umbrella over his head
He opened his eyes agitated
When he saw me, he smiled
He began to speak

Son
Like the others watching me
You think I've lost it
Quite the opposite
I've found it
The rain takes me home
To when i was a boy
The smell of the soaking ground

When i close my eyes
My mother's voice is audible
Saying i shouldn't play in the rain.
It's been fifty long years
Time has erased her face
But the rain brings back her voice.

I closed my umbrella
I quit trying to rob the old man
Off his treasured memories
He smiled, motioned me to spread my hands
I did and once my eyes were closed
I was four years once more
Mum was telling me to get out of the rain
And our cat was meowing mum's words.