I sat across from her wrinkly face and white curls

As she told me, “I hate this place, it ain’t much of a pearl”

Next to her sat the Sunday paper

She said, “I read that already but I’ll read it again later”

She opened a drawer with her knobby hands

Inside were some pills, some pens, all different brands

There was also a shiny police badge

I fixed my eyes on it

She said, “That belonged to the best man I ever had”

Her facial features grew more drawn

A frame on the dresser held a couple in black and white

I started to yawn

“That’s what this place does to everyone” she told me

“The most exciting thing is when a resident falls or someone’s blood pressure’s low”

The ambulances and EMTs rush in, boy is it a show

If a resident gets rowdy they call the police

Those handsome men in black – what a tease”

The nurse walked in, interrupted, and told her, “It’s time for your pills tonight”

She reached out her hand to take a small white paper cup

The nurse left

The woman whispered, “You wouldn’t believe what these things do to the gut”

She opened her drawer and dumped the multicolored pills in

I told her I’d see her next weekend

A few nights later I was at home watching the news

Worse than a nursing home, it was all blues

Then the red banner flashed across the screen

It read: “HIGH SPEED CHASE – POLICE AT THE SCENE”

A black car with tinted windows sped down the boulevard

The reporter said, “Folks, this is hard – it seems the driver is headed to the beach”

The calvary of white cars, blue and red flashing lights followed behind

“The car appears to have been stolen” the reporter relayed

A melee on the screen was played

“This is going on for 20 minutes now”

That car ran out of road, hopped the dunes, then drove on the sand

Cop cars followed

A Coast Guard chopper’s blades fanned

The car made it to the shoreline and a person jumped out the driver’s side

A 90-year-old woman in a red bikini, skin and hair blinding white

She went for the water and began to swim

A spotlight shown on her – a scene somewhat grim

It was enticing and familiar so I kept watching

That woman swam, her white hair bobbing

Police followed

But their attempts were hollowed

A rescue diver dipped into the waves from above

The woman shouted something that sounded a lot like, “I’m in love!”

She floated on her back

While the rescue diver drew close

She said, “Aaahh, here come the men in black”

She was soon surrounded

Told to surrender and to hold on to the orange-white life ring

She softly said, “Oh, how exciting!”

The authorities were perplexed

Several of law enforcement, the woman, the rescue swimmer, were all air-lifted from the sea

The woman made it to that helicopter, was handcuffed, given a warm blanket

She said to herself, my life is complete

Back to the shore, she never made it

At the nursing home I went through that old woman’s things

That drawer that held her pills was empty

She’d clipped out a paper article – “Young man captured by police after high-speed chase”

I guess she figured it was her only way out of that place

That black and white photo was found in her swimsuit

The very woman 80-years-prior with her groom, a policeman, how cute

Medical records showed no dementia

She had a high IQ, some arthritis, and hypertension

One thing they didn’t mention

She’d been a star triathlete in her day

She wanted to experience one more time – something a bit of her husband and the waves