To Jack Pearlman in Eisenhower Hospital, Palm Desert

Death rounds the bases
and heads into home--
Nothing to do but watch--
keeping the eyes alert,
(an old body ravaged by time)
'Now & at the hour of our death..'

You lived long, played hard--
tennis tourneys into your 90s,
sneaky fast, tireless, skilled at
the old shots--spins, lobs, drops--

Now the finals, the crossover,
to another side, look
at the white desert light,
the morning heat rising
and the long walk with Mary.

The end is near; let us
celebrate the joys
your soulful body achieved--
the many days of movement
& utter love of living

20April09
Bill Pearlman