All used up, all fallen down,
Electrons spinning out of town,
Reclusive,
Protrusive
Man at half-mast
All tucked in, all trotted out,
Arrhythmia wind’ing ‘fore the bout
Supertensive,
Hyperpensive
Man at half-mast
All beat out, all battered in
Gnarly contraption in fettered skin
Osteoporosive,
Angiothrombosive
Man at half-mast
Ageful apparitions form the substance
Of
garrulous images sliding past,
Inclined to contend for sublimation,
From
solid to ether-man at half-mast.
Half awake, half asleep,
Half a man upon the mast;
Half dying, realizing
What can’t be made to last.
Half gone, half here,
Half turned into the wind;
Half losing and finding
What can’t be lost again.
Half wise, half wit,
Half knowing every name;
Half sorry, half hopeful,
Half playing in the rain.
Old prospects drift into dreams,
But
all too fast,
Dreams can turn to memories
For
a man at half-mast.
by
Ken Paxton
Dec.
2001
