Thank you Sir

Thank you, Sir, he says to the old men.
Sometimes age follows in the words we say I thought.
A timeless appreciation for our elders ensued and for a time lost in modern rhetoric.
In three decades after leaving school
I never thought to say it; I was taught not to say it, until recently.
When I realised they deserved my respect.
Thank you, Sir, I say.
For the manners.