(ad)ventures in poetry
Two poems capturing some of the experience of my Dad’s death. Peace to our ♥s!
Dad’s Decline
He went from walking unaided
to walker to hospital bed.
Bypassed the disposable underwear,
moved straight into diapers.
In one week! Like a prodigy
in the art of dying.
In One Word, How Would You Describe
that Last Week with Your Dad?
At the time—
challenging, wearing.
Afterwards—
brutal. Yes.
It’s a strong, visceral word.
No more questions, please.
I bustle here and there, putting this and that where it belongs.
What’s this? A spider on the living room wall! That won’t do.
I hurry to take care of it. One spider squashed and flushed away.
…
He claims one room as an office; the girls work in their bedrooms.
Remote job; online school. Almost always, the cat is asleep.
If they don’t bother me, why am I bothered having them around?
© Stephanie Malley
NaPoWriMo21 Day 20 – Write a sijo, a traditional Korean poetic form with three lines of 14-16 syllables each, and each line consisting of two parts. The first line sets up an inquiry or discussion, the second line continues the discussion, and the third line resolves it with a “twist” or surprise. Prompt from NaPoWriMo.net.
Peace to your ♥!
Serendippity 