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A Nightly Prayer
She sits in a wheelchair
years of care etched onto her face;
her family doesn't visit any more
but wait like vultures.
She looks out the window,
the rain patters softly on the pane
tears flow down her withered cheeks
running through the eroded crevices
like ancient streams.
A master of music was she;
in her brighter years;
she would run her bow over the strings...
such music she had played.
She was loved, vibrant, beautiful,
but no longer.
She is now abandoned
in this place of the elderly and dying,
her life now empty.
with naught to do
but wait to for silent death,
her body slowly failing
and her mind weakening.
Each night, she lays herself down to sleep
praying she will not wake up again
to hear the stentorious farts of the dying.
Style / type:
Free verse
Editing stage:
Content level:
Not Explicit Content
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Comments
Geezer
Mon, 2021-03-15 09:39
Thank you for...
the plain, hard look at one of our big disgraces here in this country! I recently had a conversation with someone not from this country and asked if they had found a nursing-home for a relative? They informed me, that it was NOT contemplated in their country! The family takes the relative in and everyone does their part to make sure that the last years of their lives is as happy
and well taken care of as possible. I understand that this is a different culture here and many times, with most of the family working, it becomes necessary to place some in a nursing-home environment. But, the big disgrace is that as you have said;
most of them become forgotten and abandoned. My mother, who is in a nursing-home, has a very loving family; who visits, takes care of her laundry, and minor needs [snacks she likes and other things]. She is now in a great decline and we are faced with her ultimate demise. [She is 93 and her health is failing badly]. My sisters have elected to have her come home to family, for whatever time she has left. She will live with one and the others will travel back and forth on days off and help out. I felt the pain and anguish of this poor woman in your poem. Thank you for a clear, unvarnished look at such a social-
disgrace! Not a thing to criticize! ~ Geezer.
.
There is value to commenting and critique, tell us how you feel about our work.
This must be the place, 'cause there ain't no place like this place anywhere near this place.
Midge
Wed, 2021-12-15 19:57
Dear Geezer
Thank you for your kind comments. The situation in the UK is probably little better. Especially with the farts.
author commentLavender
Mon, 2021-03-15 22:21
A Nightly Prayer
Hi, Midge,
You have written a poignant poem from the point of view of your subject - deep and intense. Your perfect, but pensive title enhances your words.
Thank you,
L
Midge
Tue, 2021-03-16 11:59
Dear Lavender
Thank you.
author comment