At Fifty-Five

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Was he improving, 
or just too tired to sin? 

Regardless, it was pretty clear 
that where his broken heart and contrite 

spirit should be there was only 
a lumpy longing for the naked past 

where he would imagine limiting 
himself to a half-pack a day, 

wine with dinner, and getting laid 
twice a month without tribulation. 

He knew he shouldn’t be having such thoughts
while wife was away for the weekend 

(you can only live so long 
with a saint without becoming one); 

but it was almost scary to think 
that Christ was sure to have him 

unless he did something drastic— 
which he probably wasn’t up to.