Pillow-huddled, curled
toward her own imaginings,
The bones held loose
in panting flesh,
She lay upon the
self-breathing bed,
almost as if, they rose and fell as one.
This bed of life could
rise and fall,
With one sure touch,
with pure and practical intention,
Prepared as it was, to
hold lightly
The shrivelled soul
that sought sanctuary.
Sounds of breath and
sounds of bed,
Drew patterned hopes
in steady weaving
And eyelids closed in
weary fall
Upon the days, the
dreams, and visitors.
How many years had
drifted past
Upon this stark white cushioning?
No answer, for she had
none, and neither did she know
If she lay upon
reward, or punishment.
If truth be known, and
it rarely is,
The answer must
embrace both offerings,
For in the suffering
lay peace,
And in the sanctuary,
brewed torment.
But such things had
all become as one
Through years of
curled imaginings,
And now she simply lay
and breathed …
In what was life’s
last offering.
http://dversepoets.com/2014/01/23/meetingthebar-bedtime-stories-tall-tales-the-art-of-story-telling/#respond
oh heck...that leaves me with a heavy feel... i wonder what brought her there...the self-breathing bed...the being curled up in like her own world and not sure if it's blessing or curse... heck...i wish she could live again...
ReplyDeleteMental illness and rheumatoid arthritis - my mother.
Deleteconsidering my father in law was in the hospital this weekend and fearing death...i feel you and all too real...and find myself at times caught between wanting them to find the peace of the after and still being here and getting better...you took me back there in the reading...
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the double-edged sword although my mother had little quality of life for much of her life and certainly for the last ten. Death was a release and a relief for her and everyone. But never easy.
DeleteHow many years had drifted past - This is very poignant and very well written, full of conveyed emotion and questions.
ReplyDeleteEnd of life.. being connected to a machine... I wonder how the end will be.. sometimes a sudden end would be better.. but when you are there at the end.. I'm sure you never feel ready.. like the knight in the seventh seal... playing chess with death
ReplyDeleteHow sad the final parting - but for some a sweet release from suffering. Your words have a beauty about them.
ReplyDeleteAnna:o]
Thanks alan 1704, Bjorn and hyperCRYPTIcal, for your input. Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete