Sing for Your Supper

We're all born

the same way

fresh and blank

with factory settings.

It's what we do over decades

and how we age that defines us:

which joints and topics ache;

which remedial vices

and coping mechanisms

help temporarily;

what are the side effects

of those?

I can't tell you when 

rain's en route

but I'm mindful

of how I lift and bend at work

and I know when to kneel

on a piece of foam insulation

instead of concrete.

My hair's thinning, 

my beard's getting lighter

and the left half of my chest

has started to go gray

over my heart

so when I'm done 

reiterating phrases

from those who taught me 

as an apprentice

I ask these young men

under my charge--

"Do you love her?"

I cite the warnings

of coffee break tales

robbed pensions

and child support

but remind them that time's

our most precious commodity.

"Don't wait past 28."

They probably hit their vapes

and forget what I've said

once those tall boys 

take hold at night

but I sleep better

having known I've tried

staring down an ashtray

that's more full

than the latest bottle.

It's a lonely life

but someone's got

to laugh at it.