Thursday, February 18, 2010

Untitled Poem

I've been working on a poem for the past 2 months, and it's still not where I want it to be, but it's getting there. Many of you know that my grandmother has been in and out of the hospital since August. Over winter break, she was hospitalized again and that's when reality hit us all: she may not make it through the year. This realization was confirmed a few months ago when she was given about 3 more months. This poem is about the past few months and the emotions we've all been feeling, as well as about the future that's coming all too soon. I know it's not perfect, but it's a work in progress. It currently does not have a title, but that will come in time too.


Hospital beds and monitors
IVs and deadly chemicals
Broken families and empty holidays
Forcing smiles and hiding fears
that tomorrow won't be any better
Shattered futures and faded pasts
Unspoken words and loud expressions
Heart-breaking realities and days
we wish could be years
Grandchildren and nieces and nephews
Children and brothers and sisters
Spouses and deceased parents
who are looking down

Heavy hearts fill the room
and light expressions fade away
Future determining decisions
and an uncertain fate leaves us all on-edge
Painful questions and heavy responses
Scrambling thoughts and semi-composed answers
Determined futures and gloomy faces
Waiting games and non-existent luck
Wet eyes and trash cans full of tissues
No regrets and no way to change
what will happen in the days to come

Judgmental opinions and angered faces
yet we know we cannot change a thing

Caskets and divided families dressed in black
Eulogies and remembrance of the past
Strength and courage to get through the days
Hope and laughter to make it all okay

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