Apothecary tongue

 I took the river walk to the apothecary
youth and elderly mixed into me saturated
tiny pills and creatures stacked in the wooden stands
distracted as we check labels some holding life together

nonnegotiable nostrum
give yourself a bill of health a reason for hope
awkwardly hobbling up the path to the next hill
With the east you pop a pill or a drop

The water in the creek is dark
Not from dirt but from depth
The strange evolution into middle age
the skin reflects the ills and years

give me these pills and creatures
who'll keep me fresh as the valley floor