Will anyone be there
by your side
when your chickens come home
to roost
when the shit's run its course
through the goose
and he's too crapped out
to squawk the name
of some supplemental insurance company
You think you've got her locked in
you think you've got him locked in
and you think sure--they'll be there
but there's a lot more piss
gonna run under the bridge
before you've crossed it for the final time
So I will ask again
will anyone be there
by your side
when the front desk has just rung
to say it's check-out time
Such a lugubrious thought
that you may just have
to go it alone
one more time
burned all your bridges
most in the heat of the moment
yes, you could say them kids
are "estranged"
but it's all about pride
and holding that grudge
and not giving in
cuz that's who you are
and they followed your lead,
now didn't they?
More important to be right..
GODDAMN RIGHT!
So what that you couldn't
trust anybody in the end
and just when you look
for a friend
everyone's indisposed
I suppose
that's the way it goes
and you quit attending funerals
with the pissing and moaning
and gnashing of teeth
cuz instinctively you knew
no one's gonna do that for you
And now here comes your parade
with its motley little band
but sure would be nice
to have someone to hold onto
who isn't a hired hand
... there is always hope ... just a matter of hanging in there ... for what ... what else is there ... Love, maybe ... Trust, maybe ... would be nice ... would be preciuous ... would be sweet ... meouw. Love , cat.
ReplyDeleteOh Tim, you nailed it with this one....My elderly friend Faiza is in hospital. Her husband died in February. She is beginning to improve but has been in for two weeks, and the one sitting by her bedside every day is me......I'm her once a week cleaning lady. Because someone has to be there for her. This poem really tells it like it is for many people. Dying can be a lonely business.
ReplyDeletesome hard emotion and hard reality behind this one man...sherry nailed it with her last sentence...and that is def sad for me...tight write...
ReplyDeleteYes, life is a great winnower of what matters and what doesn't, and in the end, you have to matter to people to keep them. I feel this one, Timo--really hits home.
ReplyDeleteTim, you've sure packed this with a sound wallop! But that's what I know you do and do so extraordinarily well.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, wouldn't it be sad to only have those you've hired to support you?
I think your words tap into some of our deepest fears.
ReplyDeletebut it's all about pride
ReplyDeleteand holding that grudge
and not giving in
cuz that's who you are
and they followed your lead,
Well, Sherry Blue Sky certainly is a wonderful person. This just leaves me so so sad and I hope this is not about you! But I know it is about many... And you can't blame the children who have been estranged. Often, for their own survival and self esteem, they have to get far far away from a nasty parent...
This was powerful!
This is the stuff that nightmares and sleepless nights are made of. Maybe mine not in those exact words.
ReplyDeletemy mom used to work in a home for elderly people and some of them never got visitors..some because of the reasons you write above...and suddenly they realize..and then it's too late.. tough..
ReplyDeleteI really think you use the colloquialisms very well, making this poem that much more relatable to. At the beginning, I thought you were talking about those who are against universal healthcare, but then the poem becomes more universal in theme, talking our actions and their effects. That's a very powerful message, one which I think I myself should heed. Great crafting of a message that really talks to mortality and its meaning for our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteBah humbug! :)
ReplyDeleteKOBI KO: Yeah, well, there's still time to change your ways, Mr. S!
ReplyDeleteEach and every comment is special...thanks everyone! (My mommy told me that I was special too...)
This is a very interesting post.I prefer to view it in a different way. I think connections are important with people when you are alive and well rather than them turn up when you are dying or dead for your wake or the reading of the will. Ask any legal professional and they will tell you the bodies are barely cold before the relatives come sniffing out the will.A period of 'mourning 'is definitely a thing of the past.Dying should be a peaceful experience in peaceful surroundings.Hospital is not the ideal place. On a personal note if I outlive the few people that I love I would prefer to die completely alone in the wilderness. Animals do. I guess Im very primitive.
ReplyDeleteAh, this is a sad truth...as the saying goes, you reap what you sow....packs a powerful punch, your poem
ReplyDeleteCRESSIDA: Yes, give me flowers while I'm still around to sniff them--I agree with that. (Except I prefer to see flowers growing naturally, not withering away in some vase.) Anyway, if people care enough to do that, then I think those final moments take care of themselves. The dying alone versus being surrounded by loved ones is an interesting choice, and I wonder how many would share your same preference.
ReplyDeleteI said if I outlive my loved ones I would prefer to die alone and preferably not in a hospital. I believe that if you have forged deep connection in life death does not separate you from the presence of ones you have loved deeply,thus you are never alone.
DeleteIn most of my thinking and preferences it is rare that anyone shares my opinion ,Timoteo:)
Thank you for a thought provoking post.
PS
I love flowers too..and in a vase as well.