Reaching Out

Reaching Out

By John R. Greenwood

stalled in time and riddled with pain

a man listens more carefully and quiet becomes his friend

age creeped up and stole his spirit 

for a moment at least

retreating back beneath the muddy river bank

resting in the darkness 

waiting for something to arrive

peering out through the shadowed ripples

a man spins his wheels 

fears the face in the mirror

he knows better

the prescription he’s handed others 

now unfamiliar and strange

as the second hand rotates into weeks

the aches grasping tight 

unrelenting and heartless

the man breathes in deep

pulls up his boot straps 

cinches his belt

tilts the chin a degree or two

off in the distance

a dog barks

a rooster crows

daybreak