the grumpy old people

well, they're out there aren't they?
from generation to generation
a timeless breed
"Get off my lawn!"
"Goddamned youngsters don't know what they've got!"
we hear them often, in the coffee shops,
sitting in front of houses on old chairs
in the lonely corner shop diners
in the early morning waking hours of Denny's
and Waffle Houses, and International House of Pancakes
you see them grumbling to themselves, complaining to no one.
they usually sit alone, disconnected from the rest
the newspapers are their shield
their coffees sit with the same steam that comes from their
grumpy words, moods, ways of being
the empty creamer and sweetener packets are their testament
talking aloud to no one and everyone
sometimes we brush them off as just a crazy old person
other times we just say they're just a grumpy old person
but how do they become grumpy old people?
well, you see, not everyone gets the happy ending
not everyone gets the spouse and kids and house of joy
not everyone has the splendors that we're all taught
from a young age
the beautiful house over looking the lake with the
white picket fences and 2 car garage
the pinnacles of modern day dreams
there are always those that get left behind
those that get the short end of the sticks
those in the mental institutions
those that end their lives with ropes or gunshot blasts or
pills of poison or falling from buildings built for life
those that waste away with the slow poisons
those that are forced to forever deal with emptiness and loneliness
those that spend their entire lives running from everything and nothing
they're out there we see them often
and sometimes some of us become them.....
maybe a friend or a neighbor
and sometimes even you and me
those grumpy old people