University Medical Center
Walking up to the hospital
The first time
My knees jello
Red roses bloomed along the sidewalk
The sky blue
The weather mild
In an unfamiliar town
The new center of my world
The short walk was uphill
Surrounded by tall buildings
I wasn’t sure
Didn’t know
I had spoken to the doctor
On the phone
His voice low
His words serious
I asked if he was eating
By the tone of his voice
I knew his condition was bad
He said no, not now
He has had a stroke
We are doing tests
We will know more soon
My blood ran cold
Through the years
I had worried about so many things
That might have happened
Yet never this one
I was at his bedside
I held his hand
Kissed him for the last time
Soon his life would be over
I would still be his Mom
He would be gone
It all passed so quickly
Someone told me
‘life is the hyphen between’
Birth and death
This day is grey
Tears slowly run down my cheeks
Hard to let go
Hard to believe the unbelievable
The blood of my heart is cold
Now is the winter of my life
I will live until I am alive again
August 13, 2014
6 comments:
It was just one short week, then it was over. The visit to the hospital was traumatic, the sights and sounds more like the images of war, hard to find a place of calm in my mind. The sounds of the machines, the elevator sounds, the people, lost in other worlds, the ambulance ride, wheels screech, the goodbyes too short, then quiet. Life's ending, leaving, to breath fresh air….to find the world continues as it was, before you came.
Despite the pervasive sadness of this poem, I sense a note of hope and triumph in the very last line: "I will live until I am alive again."
What terrible places become the centre and sadly the end of our world as we know it at times...I agree with Magical that it is courageous to live out those grey days..to want to become alive again...xo
I thought of you when I read the list of words...but this poem proves, once again, that you are a survivor and I am glad for that last line,
Elizabeth
Kissed him for the last time
Soon his life would be over
I would still be his Mom
Most tragic and most heart-rending experience. When it comes to our own flesh and blood nothing else matter. The ultimate sadness there is. Great write annell!
Hank
Annell, this made me cry, I understand this pain, this loss, this emptiness. A hug to you. May you be surrounded with the hugs of love for all your days, my friend.
Pamela ox
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