Sweet Surrender
I visit a sweet little old lady in a nursing home. She is my "Jessica Tandy" (for those of you that have watched the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes"). This adorable lady does not have the kind of dramatic background that Jessica Tandy relates in her story but she is certainly no less captivating or any less lovable.
She
sits in her padded armchair
“But you look tired, you need to rest Dear.”
Swaying
gently back and forth
Frail, fragile, and pathetic
As soft moans haunt each breath
She pleads not to be left alone .
Alone in a bleak world.
She pleads not to be left alone .
Alone in a bleak world.
Alone with her memories
“No, don’t
leave yet,” she implores me
Her feeble voice quivers, weak,
A poignant
mixture of sadness, hope
Her eyes are pools of aged longing
Her eyes are pools of aged longing
And
her plaintive pleading spears my heart.
“But you look tired, you need to rest Dear.”
I search
to find the gentle words
To dispel rejection, disown indifference
To dispel rejection, disown indifference
And I make a promise I aim to keep
“I’ll come back later, when you have rested.
“I’ll come back later, when you have rested.
It won’t be long, so rest my dear.”
Slowly,
painfully, but with resolve.
She
moves her head from side to side
“Oh I’m just fine, I'll rest later.”
She
strains to raise her sagging form.
A
valiant effort of ageless endurance
Against
the onslaught of weighted years.
Declining
health has sapped her vigor
But
age has failed to quell a spirit
That
just won’t falter or be stilled.
So
I sit back down and we reminisce
Of
carefree days so long now gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment