Old men should never fall in love.
The pain is not as deep as it was in youth,
But, in many ways, is deeper and more mortal.
Old men have no way to step aside,
Nor deflect,
The feelings that they thought,
Have long been buried.
New love in old men brings up memories,
And dreams
Which they no longer know how
To deal with.
Nor can they hope to live forever,
Dance all night,
Or make love
With passion,
As they did when they were young.
Even worse, they know it.
They know they could make love,
In ways which might surprise,
A younger inexperienced woman,
Who probably believes they've never made love.
But,
There's no way to explain
Without being laughed at,
Or spurned,
And,
You certainly cannot demonstrate.
There's no where for an old man to go,
If he loves and is rejected,
Or loves and is accepted.
An old man in love becomes trapped,
Seldom living with his love,
But with dreams, memories,
Phantoms, and fantasies instead.
Donovan Baldwin