Eighty-Eight And Counting Poem by Taylor Graham

The old man stares ahead, no reason why.
The cat’s stretched sunning on the kitchen sill,
and now a flight of crows across the sky.

He’s got a jigsaw puzzle lying by
half-finished years ago, a test of skill.
The old man stares ahead. No reason why

he couldn’t turn the pieces where they lie;
but fitting things together calls for will.
And now a flight of crows across the sky

casts shadows. Do they mean to clarify
some age-old question about good and ill?
The old man stares ahead. No reason why.

For supper, Elena’s fixing chicken pie.
She always sees an old man gets his fill.
And now a flight of crows across the sky.

If asked, he whispers he would rather die.
But she just wipes her hands. With time to kill,
the old man stares ahead, no reason why,
and now a flight of crows across the sky.