The Old Man

For a time, I worked in a small souvenir shop

On the side of a long highway.

Convenience stores, corporate restaurants, and miscellaneous businesses

Ensnared six lanes of wheeled vehicles

That passed by endlessly with a thunderous roar.

One day, an old man walked in and began to walk around inquisitively.

I looked at him curiously out of the corner of my eye,

Trying to decipher why he was simply admiring his surroundings,

And not the products on the shelves.

I walked over to the man and asked if he needed anything.

He said he was completely content.

I then asked him what brought him to the store on that particular day.

He said to me that he had driven past all these places his entire life,

Without ever taking the opportunity to see what they had to offer.

He told me his life was about to end,

And he wouldn’t dare let Death take away

The opportunities, places, and people of which

He never got a chance to explore.