the tales of our todays
   splash into     tomorrow
my veins appear     bluer
     my joints creak louder
as if anxious for attention

hours pass while in some strange
     autopilot   stupor
paddling     among     memories
that bleed monochrome
   feel like sand   slipping
painlessly     from my ears

bright   names have grown   grubby
as years dribble     away
   from my hands

it must be universal

what’s the   medical   name
for over-reminiscing
   coupled with   too   much     thinking

sad hellos   float   in the wind
   goodbyes punch harder
     and occur too often

our misery clings to the windows
   like April   raindrops
     the language of young     manhood
smudged together in the mist
   incoherent     grey clouds
we remember   this but     not that

my spine   aches
I     misplace things
and next   week and next   month
     stumble into view
blurry as a frozen drink
   dangerous to     touch