Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown

Fizzy drinks
And short pants.
Men falling all over you.
None of it removes the gnawing fear
That there’s more you ought to do.
More to help your family and friends.
More to be the type of person
Worthy of respect.
Someone to depend on,
Someone everyone would get.
Yet you drink and take too many pills,
All to blunt the sharp edges of life.
But now is the point where habits set in
And aspirations drift away until you’re
Just laying by the pool, afraid to get in.

© 2022 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.