Old Man's Walk

This dusty road which I traverse with a smile
As I pass my yesterdays and think of the past
The days in the summer the heat, a test
And the cold days of winter, the icy blast
The fall of the leaves each autumn that came
The smell of the fires that November brought
The smiles at Christmas, some genuine, some forced
The gifts that were given, with love and with thought
I remember them well and still I don’t regret
That I shall never see them again and relive the joy
For that was then and this now
It’s impossible to return to that little, smiling boy

So the past is gone and the future beckons me
The footsteps are slower now, the walk not quite straight
The ambling of an older man, but happy
Walking the day, that leads me to fate
For my age it has caught me and my friends have all gone
My life is empty, but still I am here, waiting
I lived a good life, did things of which I am proud
My children they love me, they remonstrate me
Too old for those long walks, they tell me more and more
Should stay indoors and keep warm, nice
I guess age hasn’t changed the man inside me
I still can’t take good advice

Well it’s another day now and the sky is so blue
And I walk again down this path, same one for years
The tree that I planted all those years ago
It looks good in the sun, a fool crying tears
My house is right there in front of me, but it seems so far
Why do my legs not want to continue this stroll?
And suddenly I know that I have made a mistake
And onto the dusty path I roll
I realise with a smile that my journey is over
The blue sky looks dark now and the tree seems to know
That my days and my nights of waiting are done
And with them the years flash me by and the memories go