Born in ’44,
Pushing on seventy but still fitter than me,
I watched him today, watched his way
Of showing he could still hack it,
Harder and better than I ever could.
Fuck it I thought,
He wants to do all the work?
And it was hard graft,
Swinging those scaffold boards about,
Hammering those nails in,
Digging the earth out,
I swear he enjoys sawing.
Fuck this I thought,
He wants to do all the work?
I didn’t enjoy even watching.
Praying his heart wouldn’t attack,
The way he approached the work.
The work I needed done.
The sky beat down, the blistering son.
Fucking hell, I thought,
He wants me to watch or work?
Yet he’s nearly finished the job,
The task I didn’t do before he came,
Dripping in sweat and hand seized up,
In half a day, he’s done it all.
Grateful, I feel fucking small.
Fuck it, I couldn’t have stopped him,
Even if I had tried.