Old Man
Photo by Sally Peterson
Audio version read by George Atherton
A 90 year old man
sat on his walker in the cereal aisle
an aisle so long
so comically, absurdly
so grotesquely long
he had to rest
his old American legs
He was hairless
possibly from cancer treatments
but his eyes shined
battles and wits
an eternal youth of sorts
like an old bull elephant
I approached him because
I liked him very much
he was a fighter
he wouldn’t be caught dead
on a scooter-cart
neither would I
me and him would rather crawl
than use the scooter-cart
Hello sir
I said to him
and he looked up at me
with a wide
I’m-not-scared-of-death
smile
a smile that can only be cast
by a man who has dodged bullets
a smile by a man who has dodged them
literally
on a beach in Europe
He looked at me with his
smile, with his connection,
his wisdom that was drilled to
the center of the Earth
and he said
Too many choices aren’t there?
Far too many choices sir.
I remember when there was just
Corn Flakes and Wheaties.
That sounds fine to me.
I told him.
I asked him if he needed anything:
Need me to reach a box
Guard you through the door
Set this place on fire
Start a new nation
Anything sir, what will it be?
He replied,
Nope
I’m heading to the checkout.
Carry on young man.
–Alec Binyon
32 comments on the article “Old Man”
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Paolo
i like the poem, some good things in there. I wonder if someone who reached that age might wonder if he had contributed to the mess he was glad to leave behind, at least if he had truly attained a level of wisdom.
Age doesnt always equal wisdom, sometimes the dulling or numbing of certain senses simply allows for a reduction of personal day to day anxiety, leading to a level of nonchalance one might mistake for wisdom. So if i may be allowed to suggest one criticism it might be a certain sentimentality and idealisation of old people. Often old people may have lived a long life without ever comprehending the bigger picture on certain levels, at least in our confusing age.
I would like to think old people attain wisdom but i fear in the west they often attain numbness and are just glad to get out of here.
Paolo
i like the poem, some good things in there. I wonder if someone who reached that age might wonder if he had contributed to the mess he was glad to leave behind, at least if he had truly attained a level of wisdom.
Age doesnt always equal wisdom, sometimes the dulling or numbing of certain senses simply allows for a reduction of personal day to day anxiety, leading to a level of nonchalance one might mistake for wisdom. So if i may be allowed to suggest one criticism it might be a certain sentimentality and idealisation of old people. Often old people may have lived a long life without ever comprehending the bigger picture on certain levels, at least in our confusing age.
I would like to think old people attain wisdom but i fear in the west they often attain numbness and are just glad to get out of here.
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