In the dusty suburbs of a forgotten Mississippi town,
An old man waters his lawn-
Watching
Watering
Watching

The neighbor kids, how they run with such agility.

Coveting
Craving
Coveting

How they have no care of mortgage payments or insulin shots- his nightmarish reality.
Incessant whoops and cries grate on him, taunt him,
They unashamedly flaunt youth.
He remembered flaming at his parents,
How they apathetically shrugged at the mention of their birthday.
He wanted to scream, “Don’t you feel excitement anymore? Do you feel anything?”
The idea that they could become numb to endless praise was distant,
Yet here he is, feeling the same apathy,
Wistfully suffocating in an endless 24 hour cycle
Of anti-aging creams and melancholy for the past.
He sighs as he trundles
Back and forth with his hose-

Watching, watering, watching,
Coveting, craving, coveting,

Back and forth over the dying grass.