He laid
on the bed ‘til the nurse came by,
“I’m
ninety-nine and I’m ready to die.
“I’ve
seen it all. There’s nothing left for me.
And if I
can only leave one statement behind,
let me
tell you that everyone is the same.
“They
tell you when you’re young
everyone
is unique and to judge each other for it.
But I’m
telling you, we’re all the same.
“We are
nothing but flesh, bone, and emotion
and we do
nothing but hurt and kill.
That’s
all that life really comes down to.
“Life baffles
me. Though we all have identical pains
we insist
on continuing the cycle.
They never
learn from the mistakes.
“I have
lost faith in all people.
I have
set my standards low
in hopes
to never be disappointed.
“Let me
tell you, my dear, please learn from me.
No matter
your methods of prevention,
disappointment
will always be there for you.”
He turned
to the left and closed his eyes for the last time
before he
could see the nurse hadn’t stayed to listen.
