Routine Medication
Spontaneous, creative, bold, decisive-
my youthful
and prided captions.
Hair combed in careful abandon
ascot adjusted to cavalier,
and a forward gaze;
I painted myself dashing.
Impulsive? of course.
Creative? of course.
Risk taking? of course.
The in command strut,
quick and purposeful,
easily became natural.
Red beard, Viking- like,
a challenge accepted
with youthful confidence.
Ambitious? you bet,
fame and fortune sought.
Then like a Colorado thunderstorm,
quick to rise from nothing
to become the scene stealer,
over night the red beard
became grey and
the red ascot no longer a match.
The in-command strut,
not suited for solemn stage walking,
became the deliberate shuffle of dignity.
A downward gaze to censor feet
that had forgotten to
take care on each step.
I had reached the comfort zone
of repeated behavior
needing no prompting.
Same breakfast each day,
full of berries and fiber,
had a moving and predictable comfort.
Off to the gym
to lift, shove and move
now done unthinkingly.
The road is not a challenge
and each day a routine
followed like an unquestioned religion.
From here on
the only concern is the faint possibility
that I forget my routine medication.
Doug Minnis February 21, 2001