Worry – Dan Schell

I worry about growing old.

I worry about growing old
without an emergency contact.

I worry about losing my teeth and
I worry about losing my hearing.

I worry about living on the street
because my labor is spent.

I worry that my belongings
will end up in a landfill.

I worry that I’ll be forgotten
as soon as the ink dries
on the death certificate.

I worry that I will lose compassion
for those who act like our masters.

I worry that we have forgotten
how to be kind,
how to think,
and how to drive.

I worry that there will not be
enough silence.

I worry there will be too much silence,
the world ending like a poem
no one tried to understand.