Graying In My Life

by Michael Lee Johnson

Graying in
my life
growing old
like a stagnant
bucket of
rain water with moss
floating on the top —
oh, it’s not such
a bad deal,
except when
loneliness
catches you
chilled in the
middle of a sentence
by yourself.
ticking away
like an old grandfather clock,
hands stretched straight in the air
striking midnight
like a final
prayer.