He knows now.
There will be
No more dates.
No anniversaries,
Weddings, babies,
Looking forward.
But he missed
Uncalendared,
Mundane things.
A two-stroke
Jerking to life
Under biceps.
When sweat
Was life salt,
Not metal sick.
Finding strength
Gone, grieves
Capability.
Another cuts
Grass, carries
The burdens.
Decades ago,
He bore palls,
For his father.
Unaccompanied,
He will go by
gurney to fire.
Ashes to urn.
While another
Holds his wife.
Nothing left
To borrow,
But minutes.