The Suit My Father Wore

How is it that the old gray suit
My father gently wore
Doesn’t fit him quiet as well
As it did before

And the steps he used to take
In shoes sparkling in the sun
Have softened to a shuffle
In a race already run

How is that his eyes that used to laugh
Hardly smile at all nowadays
And dreams he used to dream
Have quietly slipped away

How is it that his road keeps bending
When once it was straight and fast
How is it that all the things he hurried for
Lay fading in the past

How is it? I ask and ask
Just as he too, did before
When it fit so very well
The old gray suit he wore

How is it that the old gray suit
My father gently wore
Doesn’t fit me either
As it did before

Edward Reed