An Old Man Should By This Time Poem by Shalom Freedman

AN OLD MAN SHOULD BY THIS TIME
KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HIS DAYS

An old man should by this time
Know what to do with his days-
But each day for me is a struggle and a question-
I hesitate and begin slowly
I try to know how to work
I fumble
A little here and a little there
And I sort of find my way-

But rare are the days that I work as a I should-
I am more easily distracted now
Though I never was a champion of long- time concentration
A little here a little there
Until I sometimes find the rhythm-

But always the question the doubt
The wonder whether I am doing right
The not knowing -

An old man by this time
Should be sure of himself in his work-

But I am not
And of course not in these lines also.