Yesterday was one of those gray sleepy days

My mind was a bit foggy.

Ankles stiff

I turned the lamps on early

And made cookies.

Before I retired I used to sit at a desk all day reading

Cases and researching points of law

Drafting lists of critical questions to

Ask witnesses

Surrounded by books and files

Stacked up at my elbow, teetering in a pile on the floor.

In adjoining offices

My secretary and my partner and a paralegal talked

About legal matters, their

Voices a background murmur

And someone might be pouring coffee.

I was busy, always busy at work

Telephone ringing with clients, court, lawyers on the line

And appointments, sometime two or three

In a row.

I don’t miss those days but

My ankles weren’t stiff back then

And sometimes I miss the race.