Old Man And His Dam

[Joseph Anderson]

He had to return to the old, old dam,
where he often swam as a lad.
To see it crumbling, eroding away,
left him pensive, reflective and sad.

He said"see the high and low water marks
clearly etched on the battered old wall.
With life's flotsam and jetsam pounding away,
my old dam seems ready to fall.

It has guarded life's waters for near eighty years
and has lasted as long as I.
Scars from those years are clearly in view-
I am telling you this with a sigh.

I feel an affinity with that old dam
and can see a reflection of me.
After seeing it slowly decaying away,
I am filled with a deep empathy.

Life. like the waters, must keep flowing on,
ever hampered by time through the years.
I, in my twilight keep thinking on this-
Pardon me, while I wipe some tears".

This old friend recently passed on

[Nishu]

This was as touching to read as when I first read it. Beautiful and stirring poetry Joseph. Some wonderful analogies and metaphors.

[Stella]

lots of sentiment here Joseph, the water runs on and on to the open sea as dams give way to its flow;, but memories cannot be erased and are kept as beautiful reminders of friends and the days we shared with them.

[Sandra Martyres]

Effective use of the metaphor in this very touching write Joseph...

[Seema Chowdhury]

A heartfelt write.

[stevenstirk]

This has fantastic balance and rhythm. The reader doesn't have to
make the rhyme because it flows so well. I can relate to the "affinity"
to earthly objects. I do such comparabilities all the time. One can often
equate and compare their life 'span' with the changes to their surroundings
and inanimate objects. The world seems to be changing at an absolutely
alarming, and not necessarily good and productive pace. I am sorry for
your loss Joseph.