Poem: The Shifts
March 30, 2009 by J.C. Hewitt
The Shifts
The rule was that we would not leave her alone
Someone would always be there
My mother would not
Could not
Die unless she was alone
So we took shifts
Sitting with her sleeping shell
Listening to the respirator
Inflate
And deflate her chest
Listening to the alarms
When her breath
Or her heart
Failed to make the next cycle
At the right time
The room was alternately too hot or too cold
And my intense
Driving
Fear of hospitals
Left me with a persistent dread
I could not have escaped
Even in better circumstances
As the days carried forward
And we worked harder and harder
To fit our lives
Back into the schedule
Most of the shifts
Were spent alone
I got to know the nurses and the techs
And the Spanish only cleaning woman
Who communicated hope
As best she could
The shifts would continue
For days
Then weeks
Then months
As we kept in motion
To keep our word
Related links
- Poem -- The Days Before (0.500)
- Poem -- Driving Down (0.500)
- Poem -- The First Day (0.500)
- Poem -- Thanksgiving (0.500)
- Poem: Nurse Sunshine and the Drama Queen (0.500)
Interesting perspective on this piece… “To keep our word” good way to end it I think.
Female Vampire Arts last blog post..Female Vampire 3D Art
Great poem. Pulls me in and makes me feel like I’m right there with the time shifting too.
Michelle Kafkas last blog post..Junk Mail Jellie
How ironic that this is producing some of your best work imho). But strong emotion tends to do that, of course.
Thanks for the poetry. As one who nursed her mom through final stages of cancer, plucks a special visceral chord, especially “And my intense/ Driving’ and “As we kept in motion/To keep our word.” All emotions felt during a trial like this.
Very moving. You are an expert in converting your emotion into words for us to share and enjoy. Look forward to reading more like this from you!
Thankyou for this and the other poems about your mother and your family. My family just lost our father to cancer and we were much the same. We wouldn’t leave him to be alone…ever. I was not with him when he passed, but my mother and my brother were.
Though your poetry brings back bittersweet memories, and though I can scaresly see the screen through my tears right now, I thank you for sharing your family’s experience in such a beautiful way.
Richard