The Retirement Home
by
Deone Wiley
copyright 07-13-2005
Age Rating: 13 to 127
To linger is a sense of horror,
Some unfathomable black, impenetrated,
A brand of hunger
Never satisfied, always there,
Sharp in the belly, clawed in the breast.
To linger is a form of antiquity.
Poor tottering ancients
Viewed in pity
who know, but cannot participate.
They know that love is for the young;
Understanding for the in-between;
Wisdom for the elderly,
and nothing for the very old
who linger
sans joy, sans hope, sans memory.
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It reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa, they both were in a home, Hill Haven. They both passed on there. This is very deep and also an interesting subject to reflect on.
As one who has worked in nursing homes for years, I can attest that much of what you say is true, but I can also say that there has been a lot of improvement over the years. Some of the horror stories still take place, but they are becoming more rare instead of the norm. Everyone can help make nursing home life more bearable for residents simply by volunteering a little bit of time. Go to one and offer to read (you are all poets), help start a garden, offer to walk with a resident, offer to chaperon on an outing, bring flowers to someone who has no family left, just sit and visit with the lonely. Even those lost in dementia, see, hear and feel. The elderly desperately need the security and affection of being physically touched...Most nursing homes are desperate for volunteers...so go. (OK sorry, but the elderly are my special 'soapbox' topic)
Well, this poem hit me like a ton of bricks. My mother is elderly and though all her faculties are still there, she thinks of herself useless and not regarded as before. We include her in everything we can but she continues to talk about how seniors are forgotten and by-passed. Thank you for sharing this.
Its so sad because they are so full of interesting stories. Old people have been around the block and though their lives were different, they do know what they did and we could all learn something! Sad that the end of their lives has to be a waiting for death game! Good write, Anthony
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