THERMOSTAT
–
This Common Room feels cold,
A bother growing old…
Little warmth within,
Wear a sweater then,
Growing icicles or mold!
–
Waiting for the Home Health Aide,
It’s the promised time and she’s late!…
What can I do
Because she too,
Has a lot on her plate!
–
My wife is hoping this hour
To get some shower power…
I sit in the cold
Trying to be bold,
With the happy welcome I’ll show her.
–
–Jonathan Caswell
ON AGING
–
Gradually changing to be
From caregiver to “care-for-me”…
Independence fails
As the subject flails,
Struggling for quality.
–
Working in nursing homes
Keeps folks from being alone…
One has to harden
Then, not pardon
The frequent unending drone.
–
Folks who can still be kind
In the face of that sort of grind…
Have my vote
As folks with a Coat
Of Arms—of a gentle mind!”
–
In Rehab, I took time
To relate to those inclined…
Demential cases
Haven’t solid bases
But deep memory refined.
–
Will I end up like them,
Both Mom and Dad feared it back then…
Would have been kinder
For Dad without reminder
Of all he’d lost…and when.
–
So we’ll take it day-by-say,
In fact there’s no other way…
To not worry
Or to curry
Pity by obnoxious display!
–
–Jonathan Caswell
By the Mighty Mumford 