he wants to talk

you get a call
from your old customer.
he wants to talk,
he wants you to stop
by. he's lonely.
he's slipping.
he doesn't need
work done, his house
is fine. it's been
repainted over and
over again, by you,
a dozen times.
but he wants you to
come by and take
a look, see if there
is anything that
needs painting and there
is nothing, as you
both stand back and look
from the perfect lawn,
in the pristine
driveway, or around
back close to
the glistening pool,
there is nothing
that needs one stroke
of a brush. so
you go inside and
he hands you a
bag of lightbulbs, a
cold beer and says
apologetically,
i have ladder,
can you change these
for me, please,
pointing at the dim
fixture, high on
the kitchen ceiling.
and so you do,
because you know that
one day, your time
will come along too.