Attendants Poem by Earl Schumacker

Attendants

Attendants once were happy in the ancient mansion
Made of sand and granite by the cliff
How fortuitous to be employed in these harsh times
Tending to the mundane chores and sober orders
The rule of life for functionaries is to fulfill reasonable requests
I guess things must have changed in history between the shadows
The help demand more benefits and pay
My servants used to bring me, one vitamin for breakfast
Champagne or absinthe were always there to wash it down
I had one worker for each arm and leg
The four of them became uniquely useless
So what if I forgot their names and birthdays
They still get paid and have definable obligations
Incongruities and inconsistencies will not be tolerated
Attendants are attendants one and the same
Now they play all day
Overlook the cliff at ships and crashing waves below
Sometimes all four gather shells down there and swim the shallows
Or gather pine cones to throw around into tomorrow
In their spare time they take me out like trash
One of them on each arm and leg and toss me in the yard
Being old and feeble I cannot walk or get around myself
I get by on rain water and bugs that happen by
The servants have taken over the old gray mansion
They copulate inside and left me here to die