Sketch

The tall and the short of it is that 
they have together pecked away
at life for a very long time and the
evidence of that is clear to be seen.
If they were birds he would be a stork
and she a wren, an odd couple but
then couples that remain in firm
relation to one another as they have
do tend to be odd. His long, angular
frame stretches twice the height of
hers yet in other ways there is an
unmistakable resemblance as though
two people living so long together
gradually assumed one another's
physical features. Their faces? As
though someone skilled at origami
had carefully folded human flesh
to result in papery-thin skin folded
endlessly on itself, wan and delicate.
Even their voices have become pale
and tremulous. To view them is to be
concerned that too emphatic a whisper
might topple their fragile posture.
But they smile and they proffer the
usual pleasantries before toddling off
and you think to yourself this might
very well be the last time you see them.
They are our neighbours; they could be
yours as well, don't you think so?