I'm a night owl. But i am not a fan of sleeping past noon because it feels like a wasted day. Don't get me wrong, I love sleep and thank the Lord for giving it to us because it is the best excuse to stop the freight train we call life and fall into a world only the mind could concoct, but I do also wish there were more hours in a day. More hours so I could scrawl all the thoughts, ideas, fantasies, dreams, and words onto virtual or physical paper, thus preserving them from the damage age does to a mind.
I have many projects I wish to complete, but sadly other necessities of life interfere. Even now as I write this, I should be spending half an hour trying to solve one complex problem out of 10 for only one measly point with not a clue as to what I'm doing wrong...sigh.
As an added bonus, I got a little inspiration recently and in case you missed it on FB I'll post it here. I wish I could write more often but...yeah. Without further ado, I give you Old Man Fred
Old Man Fred
By Josh Watkins
I once knew a man with a
crooked cane,
Who lived upon a street
called Hummingbird Lane.
He wore a brown leather coat
and a navy blue beret,
A quiet man was he with
almost never a word to say.
Daily he could be seen
carrying a loaf of bread,
And the playful children
would cry “There goes Old Man Fred!”
Parents thought it rude, but
he didn’t mind one bit,
He just walked to the beach
and on the shores he would sit.
For days he sat there staring
out over the sea,
Until one curious child by
the name of Tommy Lee,
Skipped over to his spot with
his cheeks all rosy red,
Saying “Why do you just sit
here Old Man Fred?”
He just smiled and looked at
the lad,
Seeing the youth he once had.
“Come here and pull up a pile
of sand,
And I will tell you a tale so
wonderfully grand.”
It was on this day 50 years
past,
That I met a sweet, darling
young lass.
I saw her coming across the
sea,
On a ship so gallant, so big,
so free.
The wind carried her hair
down her back,
And not a sparkle did her stare
lack.
She caught my gaze from afar,
A poor young fisherman was my
branded scar.
The ship made port and I got
a better look,
At the character God had
fashioned from His eternal book.
My knees trembled terribly
and would not stop their shake,
For soon my humble
acquaintance she would make.
‘Hello,” said she. ‘Have you been her all
day?’
Her question caught me off
guard for she came my way!
I stuttered and stammered till
my words became clear,
‘Yes Ma’am, every day this entire
year.’
Her beauty awed my weary
soul,
As my heart craved for its
only goal.
‘You’re such a fine young
man,’ she said with a smile.
‘Come; let’s wander this
little town for a while.
My heart began beating out of
its cage,
As a love story began to fill
the stage.
She told me her dreams and
why she had come to this land,
To leave her world behind and
bury her feet in the sand.
She stole my heart that day
and kept its key,
And told me she was hanging
onto it for eternity.
For days my love for her only
grew,
But each day it seemed so
fresh and new.
Until one day she whispered
into my ear,
“I have a secret,” she said
shedding a tear.
“My father warned me about
this place.
He said if I found love I
would be a disgrace.”
I dared not speak for my
words were lost,
Fearing how much this secret
was going to cost.
“The sea is my home; it’s
where I belong,
I can hear my family singing
their song.
She inched toward the shore
in such a fright,
As the moon rose high on that
summer night.
Her legs vanished without a
trace,
A tail and a blanket of
scales had taken their place.
She was not human but a
mermaid was she!
I rubbed my eyes and thought
‘how could this be?’
She turned to the ocean ready
to return,
And my poor heart just ached
and burned.
‘Wait! I cried ‘Please don’t
go!
Take me with you for I love
you so!
She turned to me with a glow
in her eyes,
And then turned her gaze to
the starlit skies.
“I cannot take you with me,
But I still have your key,
So watch the horizon, beyond
the ocean blue,
And one day My Love I’ll
return to you.”
Then in one splash she
vanished from sight,
Since that day I have
returned every night.
Waiting for my love, my
heart’s desire,
And that my boy is why I sit
around this fire.
The lad sat there in awe with
no words to say,
He ran home to tell his
mother what he had heard that day.
When he spoke the tale she
shook her head,
She told him to stop telling lies
and go to bed.
Morning came and back to the
sea he ran,
Hoping to hear more from the
wise old man.
To his surprise, there was no
one there,
Just the sand, the sea, and
the crisp ocean air.
The suddenly he saw a flash,
And saw not one, but two
tails in the water splash.
The boy smiled and was filled
with glee,
Right then and there he fell
in love with the sea.
From that day forward
whenever he would sail,
He never missed a moment to
tell the old man’s tale.
They wouldn’t believe him,
but he didn’t care what they said,
He never stopped telling the
story of Old Man Fred.
