Sweetheart
June 21 2021
He called all the women “sweetheart”
regardless.
The snarky waitress
who's seen it all,
the callow cashier
who must still be in school.
And a young mom, who looks exhausted,
lugging groceries
and herding her charges.
Gripping his walker
as he wobbled by,
a fringe of frazzled white hair
framing a red-flushed face
and bright blue eyes.
A genial old man
who has the generous smile
of either the blessed, or the simple-minded
can disarm a woman that way,
no matter how politically incorrect.
She's slap down the rest of us
in a second
if we so much as dared
utter anything so presumptuous.
Ahhh, the privilege of age
and the power of a smile.
And such a lovely word, “sweetheart”,
to be so demonized.
Nothing meant but to be nice
and welcoming.
The busy sidewalk parts for him
as he motors on his way,
a small wave of happiness
trailing in his wake
that will last all day.
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