One
There is a warmth that is engaging
There is a sparkle in your eye
A dignity in your demeanour
And the way you don’t ask ‘Why?’
With care we skirt the conversations
Of planning, time-scale, pain and fear
And what to tell the family
And how to know when end is near.
No blame do you apportion
No anger-spitting hate
Just a peaceful resignation
And acceptance of your fate.
I see you.
Two
Her face lit up when you arrived
And your smile mirrored back
You thought your Mum remembered you
Her recall back on track.
But you were just a friendly face
That she was pleased to see.
She doesn’t know her daughter,
Can’t relate to family.
It’s hard to be the one that’s left
The one who fills the gaps
Who shares the stories that shed light
On tangled memory maps.
I see you.
Three
Now here, a different pain is raging
This world has proved all too unkind
You cannot find the resolution
That will calm your troubled mind.
Your face is ravaged and distracted
Dark shadows hood tormented eyes
Your loss of hope and lack of cope
Have only served to stigmatise.
You have turned inwards, dimmed the light
Cut at your vital line
‘Time Out! Time Lost! Time All Spent Up!’
Your fifteen minute fame headline.
I see you
Four
At the end of the shift it is I who can leave
And you are the ones who must stay
It is you who must deal with the lots you’ve
been given
And I who can walk away
I catch sight of my own reflection
A care-worn giver of care
At one with your strain, I acknowledge again
The feelings that you and I share.
So I pace out your chaos in orderly time
Reflecting and thinking things through
I wrap you in rhythm and soothe you in rhyme
To make sense where no sense is due.
I am here, and I see all of you.
