The blazing summer sun
Attacking my pigment
White thighs
Gonna need aloe vera treatment
Tender pink meat exposed
Another bout of the Irish curse
Naked flesh so easily burnt
Need to be saved by a smokin’ hot nurse
Can’t speak like that in 2022
I assure you, I truly understand
But my perverted tendencies
The truth remains; always the dirty old man
Trying to be tender
Even when you’re feeling cauterized
The day’s been hard
But you come home to her ebullient eyes
Leave your frustrations outside the door
No need to bring any of that inside
Humbled by the cost of existence
Know when to be compassionate, no tint of pride
Ghosts in the library – off the rack
Where truth far outweighs the prose
Tender voices of passed miracles
Remembering eventually that’s how life goes
Captain Q 