Gently lifting you
to the commode,
my mind wanders
to when yours
wasn’t knotted
with so very many
dead-end roads...
Like ring-a-ring-o-roses,
your bedsores sting me
a million times more
than they hurt you,
and as you wince,
I die a thousand deaths.
Yet, this is your life,
now, as I glance outside...
watch birds as they nest,
and remember
how you loved
to feed them,
always...
Maybe,
in another world,
a universe away,
you’d be treasured more
than in this one,
and wish,
with all my heart,
there’d be a fleeting lift of wings
into a clear, unruffled sky,
evanescent –
as the reflection
of wild geese, glinting
over broken waters
leaving me
with gentler memories
of a beauty, too deep
for these inglorious shores.
Comments
Ibahas1 | May 7, 2012 - 18:35
Why can't I hold all these feels?
Very touching poem. The commode line really hit home...why I cannot say. Maybe it's just the helplessness implied
Silver Spun Sand | May 7, 2012 - 19:08
Ibahas...I thank you so much for reading, and for your empathetic words. More than appreciated;-)
Tina
skinner_jennifer | May 8, 2012 - 15:48
I don't know why Tina, but this reminded me of
when I cared for my dad, upon his last few dying
days, when he was so fragile.
Gazing out of the window watching life carry on,
as he lay there waiting for death to take him.
We can only reflect on the good times and wonder
what might have been, if you know what I mean.
This is a poem of hope, that hopefully they are
somewhere better.
Thankyou for sharing this poem, I took a lot
from it.
Jenny.
Silver Spun Sand | May 8, 2012 - 17:14
Jenny - thank you so much for sharing the last memories you have of your dad. And yes, we can only reflect on the good times and of course we cannot help but wonder what might have been...so many 'if onlys'.
Pleased this poem meant such a lot to you;-)
Tina
jolono | May 11, 2012 - 12:18
Ouch Tina! Brought back some sad memories for me as well. Very well written,
Silver Spun Sand | May 11, 2012 - 14:45
Sorry about that, jolono...that I made you sad, I mean, and I really do appreciate your telling me it meant something to you. Many thanks.
Tina;-)
seashore | May 12, 2012 - 16:30
Beautifully expressed. x
Silver Spun Sand | May 12, 2012 - 17:59
Thanks, Coral;-) x
Sooz006 | May 19, 2012 - 21:18
I was a community nurse for many years, I have sat many fragile bottoms on many unyielding commodes. Tnhis one really touched me.
I preferred the first half when you drescribed her condition so beautifully.
my mind wanders
to when yours
wasn’t knotted
with so very many
dead-end roads...
Wow. Powerful words.
Silver Spun Sand | May 20, 2012 - 12:14
I take my hat off to you, Sooz. Not an easy profession, as I know only too well. Both my daughters were nurses, and strangely, from there, both went into teaching, of one form or another.
Thank you so very much for reading this, and for sharing your, as ever, inspired thoughts.
Tina