DIGNITY

Life is so valuable...
in a minute it is lost.
Good and bad, go up in smoke.
Battles are fought in hospital beds.
There are so many tales of valor...
so many tales of pain.
courage against all odds.
We have our heroes.
My heroes include the elderly...
Those little gray-haired ladies...
with day-glo green, tennis balls...
on the legs of their walkers.
They smile through pain,
and bake cookies for families.
I love those tough old men...
who hold babies...
in the place of wrenches and jackhammers.
They always endured.
Now they suffer, ultimately...
in hospital beds.
inert...
ignored...
yet, they humbly thank anyone who helps them.
They of stoic heart,
suffer in silent dignity.
They are champions.
They know it.
They maintain this final vestige of dignity.
They choose to go out as winners, not whiners.
They face the unknown,
the same way they faced life...
with heart and determination.