An elderly couple lived next door

They’re not there anymore

Age came to them

Along with heart disease, back pain, falls, dementia

Let’s not pretend

Either way in life, one of them will get ya

I sit in my front yard and watch their children and grandchildren go in and out

They take things to the curb

Tomato plant cages, sofas, suitcases

Tags still on the luggage from the places they’d once been

I sense here there’s a lesson

Every Tuesday they come by for just a little bit

Piece by piece they’re clearing it

Even the bushes get trimmed

Everything’s gutted in the end

A free-for-all on the curb

What was once someone’s life

Cleaned out by those they raised

I’m a little disturbed

That nice back porch built just last summer

It was the old man’s wish for so long

Now what a bummer

He didn’t get to enjoy it long

I watch as the garbage truck comes through

Handling the relics of a life – just a job for him to do

He uses the dingy claw of the truck to pick things up

With his rough hands he tosses smaller items into the back

The monstrous vehicle compacts

The Amazon truck then pulls in front of my house

How ironic

It delivers my package

A box full of miscellaneous things I couldn’t live without

I wonder how long it will be before it’s all baggage

For those after me

I enjoy my front yard a little longer

So much to see

I go inside

Think about the day I’ll die

And I clean my house