The Brotherhood

[sasha]

so today
it got up into the 40s -
balmy after the arctic blast -
and I celebrated
by going for a walk
Royalston Road
groomed & plowed & ice-free
(mostly)
and along the way
a voice called to me
"is it spring yet?"
guy my age
gray of hair and beard
sprinkling sand on his front steps
and I grinned and called back
" 'fraid not - we've got a lot more winter to get through"
he laughed
"aint that the truth" he said
and we chatted a bit
two strangers
exchanging recognition signals
of the brotherhood of Old Men
call and response
("who goes there?")
("friend")
he knew that spring is yet far off
and I knew he knew
and when I gave the correct password
he knew I knew he knew

[saw]

I think those kind of chance meetings are sort of cosmic opportunities to connect with your fellow man, and we should be on the lookout for them and respond in kind.....it makes us human.....it grounds us like we should be grounded....to others....in this case someone of a similar age ......all the better to share a lifetime of experiences.....and we do that not by sharing our life stories, but by a simple gesture......reaching out to another human.....and saying something......as in, I see you....and by the way, it's nice to see you. and have this chance to connect....be it ever so small in the scheme of things.....but oh so important......relevant......and nice enough to write a poem about......thanx for the poem ( well written )

[sasha]

It's something I've noticed lately - the stratification by age that seems to occur in social interactions. It's natural, I suppose, to relate most strongly with those with whom we have the most in common. My utter disinterest and abysmal inability in sports, along with a somewhat retiring disposition set me apart from those peers with more traditionally masculine inclinations, though I did manage to find a herd of like-minded geeks. The few gray-hairs I befriended were more like mentors. Now I find fellow oldsters of every ilk striking up conversation with me at the grocery, the dump, whereever my wanderings take me to peopled spaces. The silver locks identify me as Kin - nothing else really matters. I kinda like it. It's like you said - maybe now we're finally mature enough to see that our shared humanity is all that really matters.

Thanks for reading, & sharing your thoughts!