old women

I see old women...

One running
a lawn mower
at 7:30 AM
to beat the
encroaching heat
stringy arms
tossing the machine
here and there
waving gaily
as I walk by

Another
bent down
arranging mulch
in her
already
immaculate yard

Two more
striding
side by side
arms swinging
short hair
sprayed into neat submission
cute
after all these years
greeting me
with wary smiles

Another
giddy
gone wild
with incipient dementia
tending two small dogs
straining into a bush;
she says in a wondering voice,
"They just have to smell everything."

To which
I reply,
"It is a grand adventure"

I only see
one other
old man

Where are the rest?

Do they sit inside
watching TV
eating entropy
getting fat on death?

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