shuffle along

a worn, old man shuffles quietly from place to place.
within his home, his house-shoes make a more pronounced
shush-shush across the carpeted floor
than the scuffed worked boots worn out in the street.
he’s a worker bee:
had his own small business
then was forced into retirement by an on-the-job fall.
he’s traded his normal walk that used the full length of his long, narrow frame
for a stooped shuffle.
during his days, in between cowboy movies,
he