FROM TOOLBOXES TO TOENAILS

From Toolboxes to Toenails

Once I built with hands of steel,
A hammer, saw, a turning wheel.
I climbed on roofs, I dug in dirt,
I fixed what broke, I mended hurt.

Some taught children how to read,
Some planted every hopeful seed.
Some ran businesses large and small,
Some answered every urgent call.

We balanced budgets, fixed the leaks,
Worked through weekends, months, and weeks.
Raised our children, paid our dues,
Won some battles, took some bruises.

Our toolboxes were full of pride,
The proof of lives well occupied.
The world looked up, and so did we...
At least until we turned eighty-three!

For now the strangest thing has come,
A problem that has left us numb.
The knees won't bend, the back says, "No,"
The feet are farther than they look below.

I've conquered deadlines by the score,
Negotiated peace and war.
I've built a life from dreams and sweat...
But I can't reach my own darn feet!

There lies the joke both sad and grand,
A pair of clippers in my hand.
The mission's clear. The goal's in sight...
The target's somewhere out of reach tonight.

It's not the mountain I must climb.
It's just ten toenails; one at a time.
How strange that all I've done before
Comes down to reaching for the floor.

And here's the twist that makes me grin,
The kids we raised, the kith and kin,
The ones we taught to dream and care...
Sometimes forget we're sitting there.

We taught them kindness.
We taught them grace.
We taught them every human place.
Yet somehow bending to assist
Can disappear upon the list.

Now don't mistake what I am saying.
This is not begging. This is paying.
For every generation knows
It reaps the seeds another sows.

The worth of people isn't found
In how they stand when life is sound.
It's measured best by those who bend
To help a neighbor, parent, friend.

And when your toolbox gathers dust,
As someday every toolbox must,
You'll learn what every elder knows:
Life finally humbles us... head to toes.

So bend a little.
Take the time.
Perform one small act, so sublime.
For dignity is never frail
When love can trim a simple nail.

Remember us.

From toolboxes...
to toenails.

WJS