This Ole Man

This Ole Man

 

 

This ole man
turns eighty

in the spring.
He still opens doors

for his wife

and offers his hand

to the small of her back.

This ole man

talks of war

and Chevrolets
and walks in the late

of evening.
He's loved only

one woman all his life.
She is the mother

of their three grown children,
and often completes

his sentences, when
he stumbles with remembering
her name…

This ole man
smells of wood

and pipe tobacco,
a scent that lingers within

the hollow of her heart,

even though he no longer can

open her door,
and offer his hand

to the small of her back.

photography by pixgood.com

Reviews

[rubie]

So tender and beautiful.

I love to watch elderly people who are in love with each other. It warms my heart, just as this poem does.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Me too, Rubie. I hope I am blessed to have that rich of a life awaiting me! Thank you so much!

[Perkele.7885]

What would our world be like without the sentimental touches

[Kelly Scheppers]

I, for one, would be so lost without them! Thank you for having such an open heart to this!

[Brian]

a scent that lingers within
the hollow of her heart,
even though he no longer can

Really loved that. It's beautiful.

[Kelly Scheppers]

...that's the kind of love each of us look for and rarely find! Thank you, Brian. So thoughtful of you to comment!

[Brian]

So generous of you to share your splendor with us all, Kelly! :)

[Coyote Poetry]

A powerful poem. All of us know a old man. I like the stories they can tell. I enjoyed the description and the old man. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry dear Kelly.
Coyote

[Kelly Scheppers]

All of us who do know an elderly man should listen intently to their stories. You'll never hear another like them! Thank you, John!

[Coyote Poetry]

You are right and you are welcome.

[Mick Burke]

Very evocative. I can see and hear the old man and smell his pipe as I read. Sad and touching poem.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Oh, that pipe! I miss my grandfather's pipe, every Thanksgiving Day...how the scent of it infused our house just as much as the turkey and the pies! Thank you most kindly for stopping by, Mick!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

what a dedicated husband and father...and touching yet sad, as he still reaches out to her in his mind as well as physically, although in actuality, he no longer can.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Perhaps that is a love few will ever know! Thank you for your tender perspective, Jacob!

[Alfred Kukitz]

It isn't often that a shread of brilliance about a relationship comes to the fore. Here, Kelly, is volumes, volumes of magnificent prose witnessed by your eyes alone.

Love,
Al

[Kelly Scheppers]

What a dear, dear man you are to say that, Alfred...thank you! May the kindness you've given me in words return to you a thousand fold, my friend!

[Lydia Shutter]

Breathtaking emotion in this one, Kelly. Not sure if you are writing of people in your family or if this is merely a fictional write, but it moved me....very much. Enduring love that lasts through a lifetime is rare these days. When we see it, it is like looking at a piece of artwork. Such beautiful sentiment.....wow. Lydi**

[Kelly Scheppers]

It was a little bit of my grandfather, how he lost his wife in his 50's, and never remarried till his death at 87. I can't imagine living that long alone, but he had a companion with whom he doted upon, and it was "the small of her back" that this refers to. I love how you referenced looking at love that endures, saying it's "like looking at a piece of artwork." How amazingly true! ...thank you, Lydi!

[....................]

The little things make the difference in strong relationships and the image of this 'ole' man placing a hand at the small of his wife's back is touching. I love the way you time shift with the addition of such a wonderful picture. My heart aches as it reminds me of my grandparents (who have long since passed) and how my grandmother pined for my pop for the fourteen years she lived without him. You are a skilled observer, Kelly and the evidence is right here.

[Kelly Scheppers]

My grandparents from both sides of my parents lost their spouses young in life, and never remarried. I used to watch my grandfather with his "lady friend", as we called her, how attentive he was to her, and how the two of them were inseparable. I believe a lot of what I witnessed simply stuck in my mind, allowing me to write this the way I did. I deeply appreciate your view, Thomas. Thank you so much!

[....................]

You are kindly welcome, Kelly... and thanks for sharing this tid-bit with me :)

[R Smith]

you met me then Kelly haha, sorry bad sense of humor, a lovely poem about a lovely man, someone it would be good for all men to aspire to be like, great and sensitively written, lovely Kelly :)

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you dear Richard!