Reunion

I look at this forty-fourth reunion photo

and still recognize a few faces.

Some are bald and plump, many were absent,

some too embarrassed to show up

and be compared to their young selves.

One frail and fatigued leans on his cane

waiting for the shutter to click.

Many are retired. Some bedridden.

One like Gilgamesh seeks eternal life,

explores the Amazon; deep in the rain

forest, he searches for a plant

that may prolong life

lest he be deaf and blind.

One hoards roots and extracts, consumes

an elixir, yet bears his aged body

bound to a cold wheelchair

in a nursing home.

I hold a grandson’s small hand

amble towards the nearby park

sit on a bench while the child

runs towards the pond

and counts the goslings.

Copyright Credit: Mo Saidi, "Reunion" from Between A and Z. Copyright © 2014 by Mo H. Saidi. Reprinted by permission of Mo H. Saidi.

Source: Between A and Z (Wings Press)