Never let it slip your mind
the older he/she becomes
the slower they move
remaining longer within earshot
shuffling in what other's say to
the crooked bones of their bodies.
They have learned the lesson of trees
to be still, and have a thick skin
perhaps if you weathered the young
and all that young lips say
you too would be "hard of hearing"
and blame it on going gray.
That selective hearing.
