Long Life (For My Grandfather)
I lament the fact
that my work-worn body
has betrayed me
at the last of my life
which has been so
full, so beautiful
with its frights
and pleasures and
every day’s forgotten moments.
I hope they see beyond this
worn-out shell and into
the depths—
deep into my past—
our past—
when all was sharp and clear
without weakness.
Will I stay in this state so
long that they cannot
remember me
in my strength?
Will they remember dependence—
my reliance instead of my power?
Such a fleeting time
I stay in this state.
does it remake my life
only because it occurs at the end?
Marsha Salerno
has betrayed me
at the last of my life
which has been so
full, so beautiful
with its frights
and pleasures and
every day’s forgotten moments.
I hope they see beyond this
worn-out shell and into
the depths—
deep into my past—
our past—
when all was sharp and clear
without weakness.
Will I stay in this state so
long that they cannot
remember me
in my strength?
Will they remember dependence—
my reliance instead of my power?
Such a fleeting time
I stay in this state.
does it remake my life
only because it occurs at the end?
Marsha Salerno
1 comment:
This one hit a chord - my mother after many small strokes couldn't speak for the last three years of her life. This says what she must have thought. Susan
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