<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space; font-size: 22px;">Shedding<br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I never thought a man</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">with a beating heart and warm skin</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">could shed this much.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">First, the hair deserts my head</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">like refugees running from fire.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, I surrender vision,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">as blurring, black flashes, and</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">peripheral darkness carry me</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">to the edge of blindness,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">my eyes forever after</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">skeptical of clarity.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Lately, arthritis, digestion, and other ailments</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">lash me with a thousand cuts,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">driving me into an ever-smaller</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">coffin of daily living (CDL).</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When the gods tell me,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’ve lost enough. It’s time to transition,”</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I reply, “I’ve got news for you. I’m not dead yet.”</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As Satchel Paige said,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Age is a case of mind over matter.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you don’t mind, it don’t matter!”</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And the part of me doesn’t mind</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">refuses to be shed.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the steep, slow trail of decline,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">age continues to gift me,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">as I soar to new perspectives,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">hear the jokes that don’t wound,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">smell trouble before it enters the room,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">see the candle of goodness flickering</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">in my closest enemy, and whenever I can</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">taste the flavor of each living moment.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Hope and reality may be the oil and vinegar</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">that refuse to mix, but I can still use them</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">to dress and eat this late-life salad.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">No need to wait for more freedom.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s here.</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Karl Kadie</span></div></body></html>