A true story from my life.

As they lifted the old man into the ambulance
I caught a glimpse of his twisted face,
Eyes wide, mouth in shock at
Finally being caught by old age.
Fragile and obsolete like eggshells.
Sick? Dying? Maybe.
His legs were bent at the knee, drawing in towards him
As everything else about him fled.
While he was put away,
Emergency services talked into radios,
Stood around the ambulance.
This, after all, is their job.
There was no crowd, no fuss,
And I was three walking blocks away
Before the coughing siren caught me.
Death should move faster than that, I thought,
And should use its siren more decisively.