The Forgotten Man

Old age should be a time of joy but for so many it is anything but

The Forgotten Man

Nobody heard him, the forgotten man.

A pitiful specter too often seen within

the sad depressing places we keep the old.

He shuffles on slipper shod feet down a hall

hoping for a smile or a familiar face.

The contact he knew in his younger years

that made each day special, not just a day.

Bingo, beach balls, therapy, and drugs

are the life he now knows and nothing more.

and as he manages to arrive in the room

where the recliners are lined up in a row

to watch some old movie they put on the screen

and wonder why his family has left him here.

To languish in boredom and wonder each day

if he will ever go home or just die in the place.

A lonely forgotten old man dressed in a torn robe

with no dignity, hope, or joy any more