The best thing about working at my college -- the amazing and creative people who surround me. Here's a poem from my friend Paul Marshall. It erupted from an exercise in Teaching Lab last week, something I called "the poetry bank," where we generated lists of questions, colors, overheard bits of conversation, animals, etc.
Untitled
Will you kiss me one last time?
Will you kiss me one last time?
Tit for Tat
my Mother tells my Alzheimers addled Father.
Filled with despair,
his sloth like, sad-eyed,
slow moving response hangs red in the air.
Looking at his little rocking chair
the boy says,
"I want to make a sail boat. Where is the axe?"
I'm going to paint it pink and name it chartreuse.
"Of course I would say good bye to you before I leave,"
his wife said.
Will you kiss me one last time?
Tit for Tat
my Mother tells my Alzheimers addled Father.
Filled with despair,
his sloth like, sad-eyed,
slow moving response hangs red in the air.
Looking at his little rocking chair
the boy says,
"I want to make a sail boat. Where is the axe?"
I'm going to paint it pink and name it chartreuse.
"Of course I would say good bye to you before I leave,"
his wife said.
I love the poem. I love the one last kiss, the addled mind and slow moving response - the color red
ReplyDeletethe pink sail boat called chartreuse
and the last line I'll say goodbye -
The poem is the way life is for me right now - my 95 year old mother clear headed, but not always hearing and her resistance to my ideas of what she needs - her caregiver gone for now and we have a 20 year old boy/man who needs us as much as we need him to live and care for her and we to care for him - JUST LIFE -
Carolynne
Universal themes; universal truths.
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