The Old By Rikki Brase There once was an old man He was the angry, struggling kind His shadows spoke volumes while the future fogged his mind He was never enough He always came in last His bad habits turned his feet To face the Shame of his past Does his life have purpose? Does he qualify for growth? Can a man trade his past for A little unearned hope? The man's eyes wept as his answer filled his head Good life don't exist For a man of my stead Hunching down the street The old man waddled his way to a brick road with a sign That read "You deserve today" A girl then met his side Smiling at the sign Hi there sir, have you dreamt Dreams of all kinds? Dreamt of new places Dreamt of new life Dreamt because dreaming gives hope within strife I'll tell you now The old man said Hoping ain't made for A man of my stead! I hoped back then But that came with a cost You see dreaming asks for Heart - mine's long-gone, lost So don't tell me there's a song Stop telling me lies My years of experience Justify my cries The street fell silent The empty space cold This girl then wondered If her heart would grow old Too old to smile Too old to hope Too old to dream beyond what Reality wrote The girl was lost in thought The girl was confused The girl was losing heart While the old man mused As he saw her somber stare On the face of such youth He began to ask the question Am I telling the truth? The old man groaned himself Up, off that brick road To gift the girl the beliefs He thought he'd never ever know His cold hands folded over his warming heart as he waddled her way But before he could reach her HIs thoughts began to fray Why on earth have I held regrets This long - Was I afraid? Afraid to let old go Afraid to hurt again Afraid to try and fail Afraid to see my sin Stay to let me prove my frown I'd say to all my friends Stay to see this weight I hold Will never meet its end I hear you, said the girl Which startled this old man For he thought his thoughts Were inside his head Unheard, Unseen, Unfound Why, old man, Have you believed Lies that led to tears? Why has hope been so far fetched, leaving you with fears? And if you're right Where do you schedule painful living To your remaining years? HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA He wheezed He cracked He belly laughed He grinned His face turned red He laughed He cried It wouldn't stop His old heart Leapt from dead The old man looked into her bashful eyes and told her his real truth I have struggled I have felt pain I have not gotten over that But today in all the hurt It sure felt good to laugh You got me laughing hard Saying that bit about scheduling pain No one plans for that, but Hurt happens and it stains Help me little girl Tell me of your hope How do I rid of my pain I wear like a coat? She glanced at the sign Then back at the old boy I fill life with things of purpose Then, In Christ I find joy
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