Message From The Care Home Front
By Ewan
- 1523 reads
They break our bread,
we break our bones.
Every dropped plate is shattered glass.
One slammed door, an artillery shell
Well? Who is well? Smell the defeat –
Soldier, sailor, nary a tinker nor a tailor,
some butchers, some bawds,
some ladies, no lords:
we are all beggars here.
Those who visit, they are the ghosts,
barely visible – to us their hosts.
Carried in on waves of duty and disappointment,
they speak in fractured conversations,
the radio de-tuned by the interference
in our brains.
What they say is anyone’s guess.
If they did not come, would we love them less?
The smell, the smell,
we live in our own effluvious hell.
A bell for dinner, a bell for lunch;
a regiment of dotards, we shuffle in time
‘eft – ’ight’, ‘eft – ‘ight.
We are here, though you do not hear us,
through the fog of aging,
bereft are we,
of communication,
of contact,
of love.
We are British Legionnaires,
here in ranks, at blurred attention
for the final, sad parade.
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Comments
So thoughtful, but so sad.
So thoughtful, but so sad. One can understand how some find visiting difficult, and the job of serving, nursing, hard. But I think I have mentioned how positive the home near us is, with upbeat and caring staff (well-led) and 'activity' organiser.
My husband has been asked spend time with others as his mother (104) is frequently asleep (all day) and has short concentration spans, muddled but happy. He he has got to know a number quite well, gradually, and some, sometimes choose to share and discuss quite meaningfully. All enjoy seeing visitors around.
Rhiannon
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I lliked this, giving
I lliked this, giving legionnaires a new battleground. It's sad but I don't find it depressing. And I like the poppy, despite our mixed perception of it.
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During my working days I knew
During my working days I knew dozens, probably even hundreds, of people who were victims of dementia. Some of them I had known before the illness struck. Some I only met once or twice. Because of the nature of my work I had to get quite close to them and talk to them or communicate with them in some way. To some people they were a mere number or a name on a door. To me they were always a proud human being who had lived a life and made a difference to someone else's life. In every case it was heartbreaking to see them. Years later I still think of some of them. I just hope for my sake and my family's sake that this never happens to me.
Your poem describes the latter days of these particular people extremely well.
Turlough
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Such a moving piece, thank
Such a moving piece, thank you Ewan. It's so sad when people disappear, especially in the in-between stage where it can terrify some
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"Those who visit, they are
"Those who visit, they are the ghosts,"
Such a powerful poem. Those last three lines are perfect. Dementia seems to be a modern day plague taking more and more people with it. You have a special way of capturing the desolation with pieces like this, Ewan.
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very true, the last bugle
very true, the last bugle call sounds not in the trenches.
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