CARE TAKER

He is always around the corner
Riding on his rickety old bicycle
His back; bent from age
Of life well spent in service
 
Always trimming the bushes
Watering from the old can that
 Always makes a splash
Mowing the lawn, even on a too sunny day.
 
The houses is always spick and span
The furniture gleam from careful dusting
The China and tea set shine from good washing
The rugs and hangings are not spared either
The sound of vacuuming is always heard,
Five blocks away, every morning.
 
We call him the bent old man
Who always sits around the corner
Watching the canaries and the pigeons
Fly around the trees
And listening to the croaks of the frogs
In the pond two houses away
 
He puffs on his tobacco with each breath
His eyes following the frolicking children on the sand
As he watches over the house where no one ever enters.