I SEE YOU

i see you
do you see me?
i'm the old guy
of haggard face
working in the back of the gym
attentive
dedicated
kind of hard of hearing
you won't look at me
i know that

i work here daily
with what is left
i work twice as hard
to try to keep up
with you younger ones
but i work for myself
not for awards
or companionship
or crappy trophies
that vanity is in my past

my muscles don't grow as easily
as yours
my lungs can't process the oxygen
like yours
my skin isn't supple
like yours
but i look at you
i am not afraid to look
please look at me

look at me
and see
what you will be
if you are lucky
to be in a gym
at sixty-three