They are rubbed grey and bristly
skin thick and loose
faces like rhinos
like oak trees
some of them are still big
but in a hunched way
like bears
it’s hard to believe old men
were once so soft
you would put your nose anywhere
soft like ripe fig
clear as a bath
I wonder
does time rub away
their memory
of being cute
or do they wish
I would look at them longer
like we do with babies
wanting to touch them
just to be close
to all that hope.