He wakes in a room he has
seen before, can’t think when,
in his pyjamas, in the bed.
Two women in white uniforms
come in, very cheerful, they know
him, help him to shower and dress.
He’s remembering he’s been here
some days now, the men in the
corridor greet him by name.
In a dining room with many
small tables more white uniforms
serve the men breakfast.
After breakfast he potters around
has mid morning cups of tea but
then needs a pre lunch snifter.
Alas all alcohol is locked away
in the nurses’ office medicine
cabinet, very securely locked.
Later afternoon they dole it out
sparingly, must be careful
with old man medication.
He remembers past good times
when he drank long and hard
with equally hard drinking mates.
What would they say if they saw
him now ? But they can’t, they
are gone, he’s outlived them all.
lifecameos 
Such a common thing so beautifully expressed
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Thank you. Yes, it is becoming more common as we live longer and some of us have a longer ageing process. I feel that the subjects of ageing as well as babies and childhood should be included in poetry.
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I remember reading once a variation on a famous quote (memory fails me as to the author) which I paraphrase as ‘ageing is a foreign land, they do things differently there’. Eventually we all travel that way if we are lucky, only to sometimes find ourselves without the company of our peers.
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Yes. Old age can bring some big surprises. I’ve seen a few outlive their own generation and they found it very hard.
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