NURSING HOME

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My mom and dad are both in the same nursing home an hour away from where I live. I visit them every Thursday. This is what I was inspired to write after my visit with them yesterday.

NURSING HOME

I go
I stay
I see
I leave
Voices all around
Not all I heed

I wish when I left
On Thursday morn
I’d see smiling faces
Instead of forlorn

The shuffling feet
The frozen stares
Eyes grown dim
Once bright
Now glare.

I’m sure they’re all different
Since now they’ve grown old
Than whom they remember
In the stories they’ve told.

“Where’s my room?”
Hilly asks
“You’re almost there.”
Sarah speaks
“Just ten more steps.”
As he shuffles his feet.

Bingo, breakfast,
Moon pies and popcorn
Trying to lift spirits
Of the tired and the torn

Angels on earth
Just a small chosen few
It takes a skilled hand
To do what they do

Lifting, stooping
Re-positioning  heads
Straightening clothes
Changing the beds

What nursing homes teach us
Oh you’d be surprised
How to hold hands
Trust the one by your side

"Wait. Just be patient."
"I’ll come quick as I can."
"Leave on your belt."
"You’ll fall if you stand."

From child to parent
To child again
In need of touch
By stranger or friend

The door revolves
Like a merry-go-round
Some come standing up
All go laying down.

Judy, Jim, Randy too
Larry, Lucy, Aunt Mary Lou
If all could talk
I’m sure they’d say
It won’t be long
Just seize the day.

Teresa Kimbel






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