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?