Death of a Natural Man (poem)

My heart is old

My heart is tired

My heart is dying

And no wonder!

24/7 through 7 decades

pumping without stop

or hesitation

through bodily abuses

booze and women

not enough sleep

not enough nutrients

taken for granted

the engine that

drives it all

taken for granted

If I were my heart

I'd be tired too

and maybe a

little pissed

If my heart had

stopped in my sleep

saying screw you!

I would have understood

but it didn't, it

pumped as best

it could, misfiring

out of sync

and I dragged ass

before dragging myself

to a doctor

who gave me the lowdown

on this miracle machine

my heart

which in old age

needs a little help

from high tech

unless I want to

drag on like

a car on half cylinders

but a tiny wondrous

coin-shaped pacemaker

should do the trick

says the doc

and I say

I never intended to

become a bionic man

but I do feel sorry

for my old tired heart

I want to help

since this dying heart

for reasons known

only to itself

decided not to

cash in and

call it a day

which is what

I would've done

--Charles Deemer