Can't figure it out
my Pappy is out there shoveling snow.
It is still snowing and the temperature
is at the pneumonia level.
And here he is at 91
shoveling walks that may be
cleaned by the sun in a few hours.
And if there is no sun the muscular
young man down the street
would come by and clear them
as part of his respect
for Pappy and himself.
Besides shove come to push
Pappy can afford to hire it done.
So why is Pappy out there
in the cold
cleaning the walks?
Don't ask him as he will think
the question stupid.
Among humans there seems to be
an unreasonable
desire to do that
which appears needing to be done.
If there were, in fact, an Aegean stable in need of
cleaning folks would line up to shovel and rake.
The side walks being swept in Amsterdam
the washing of the stoop in Paris and
my Pappy shoveling snow are part of
being a responsible human beings.
Then laugh not at fiddling
while Rome burns
nor the rearranging
the deck furniture
on the sinking Titanic
until you ask what else
you would have folks do.
I really don't know why my Pappy is out in that cold
shoveling snow except that doing so makes him feel
that he is accomplishing something.
Shoveling man is a man indeed!
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