Life Sometimes

For so many years in my life, I used to

sketch and draw to pass the free time.

Often, I was inspired by someone or

some happening nereby or far away.

Sometimes I’d just doodle on paper to

see where it would lead me. I wound up

throwing away more than I saved. Many

of those pieces I decided to keep were

either lost in the myriad ramblings of my

life or destroyed by water from burst pipes

and an apartment fire in the middle of the

night. Then too, there were the give-aways

to friends and aquaintences. Even so, I

managed to save enough over the years

to make some sense of life, and leave a

modest record of my work for those I shall

one day leave behind. Today, in the throes

of old age, and due to shaky hands and

arthritic pain, I am unable to draw and

paint anymore. So, I have taken up writing

poetry mostly. Being retired, my free time

these days extends from the moment I wake

early in the morning to bedtime late at night.

I manage to write something, albeit short

and terse, most every day—thoughts of where

I have been and given where I happen to be

situated today. I suppose there is so much more

I could say. And considering all the time wasted

drinking myself senseless with vodka and brandy,

and the thousands of renderings lost or never

done along the way, I may have said so much

more than I could ever remember anyway. I

figure that’s how life flows sometimes. So, in

keeping with the theme presented here today,

feel free to shred this paper when you reach

the end. For in the grand scheme of things, my

friends, one more piece of my drivel gone missing

won’t make a hell a lot of difference anyway.

Chris Hanch 9-13-19