An Old Man Medicates His Pains Away Poem by Shalom Freedman

AN OLD MAN MEDICATES HIS PAINS AWAY

An old man medicates his pains away
He wants to live in his mind
As if his body can be temporarily forgotten-
He tries to be as he once was
Easy in the skin of himself -

But the pains the pains the pains
They come from different directions
They interrupt they remind they dismay
The pains the pains
They may go away for a time
But they don’t forget to sharpen again-

An old man does not want to think of his body as his enemy
He is no pure mind and does not dream to be
But the pains
When so many come at once
And when no medication can really put a stop to them-
They will defeat him -

Drugged into restless sleep
He will not be able to die without them.