Each day he gets up before the sun
Preparing for the day
Seeing familiar faces and daily greetings
They say…”This must be hard for you”
Lately they see him limping a little as he
Pushes his cart up the hill. His demeanor
Is always the same…His response always positive….
“Everything is good. I’m doing great!”
These are the easy days
No matter the circumstances , snow, rain,
Cold, extreme heat, he always greets
Them with sunshine in his eyes.
They notice he’s slowing down a bit these days
He labors a little more with each step
But he keeps going, he loves his job
And looks forward to greeting his customers –
Even the “current residents”
He makes a game of it……”and you get one,
And you get one, and you get one, everybody
Gets one!!!”
All the letters, all the flats, all the packages
205, 215, the brownstones.
They greet him with “It must be hard for you
Working on Saturdays”
But he has always worked on Saturday. He smiles
And says “Everything is good, I’m doing great!
He sleeps fitfully Saturday night, Sunday is
On its way. He awakens early, time to go,
Must see his dad. Praying that today he’ll be more
Responsive, maybe he can take him outside
For a change of scenery
and yet somehow he knows he’ll be
Lying in his bed anxiously awaiting the angel
Of death, lamenting about still being here
The attendants greet him and ask “how are
You today?”
And though his heart is breaking, he’ll smile
And say “Everything is good, I’m doing great”
But deep down inside he knows..Today is the hard day!
