best before
The yoghurt pot is four months past its date,
Her fridge a necropolis for foods
Forgotten, pushed to the back, replaced.
She wants a snack and thinks that this will do.
I tell her she should always check the label
This pot’s “Best Before” was back In April.
It’s August now. She hesitates and frowns.
“So? Then I can eat it”. She reaches out
And I see at last she’s lost her grip on time
And, with a shock, I understand that I’m
The one who’s failed to read the signs, who’s left
9 comments:
Love it Greg. Not only is it real (ie my mom would eat whatever she found, no matter what state it was in) but also the last line is killer!
I can't think of a better endorsement than your recognition of the behaviour! Thanks, CityMom2B. I'm glad you liked the little twist at the end.
Poetry says what ordinary words can't - thank you for sharing. I am just starting to see these signs in my 60 yr old husband - he just wouldn't dream of looking at the label and he has no smell or taste so would be oblivious to the potential dangers. I am responsible for that and many other things to protect him; but will I be able to remember everything?
Please keep these verses coming Greg as they do make me smile too ..........
Thanks for the encouragement, Trish.
I think it's part of the healing process for me to finally be able to convert some of my experiences into another form. Sometimes it helps me see something in an episode that I missed at the time.
I'm sure your Husband won't be pulling anything out of your fridge that's 4 month's old with you living there alongside him. I used to worry so much when Mum was living so far away and I couldn't visit so often. When I cleared her fridge that time, I should have known that I couldn't leave her alone any more. It took another 3 months before I took her to live with me. Dementia is such a steep learning curve for a Carer, isn't it?
What a sad but clear picture this poem paints. Beautifully done x
Thanks, Lily.
I hope you enjoyed the recent hot weather - we always seem to get one good May week in Yorkshire before the disappointment of Summer, don't we? I cycled to Saltaire from Leeds and probably gave myself heatstroke.
I hope you're well
Gx
Generally I'm OK but the last week or two have been back to daft o'clock rising and messing about on the computer, thanks to renewed itchiness. Can't understand it, not stressed as far as I can tell. Have cycled to work a few times but there were quite a few days when I needed the car and then the weather broke :-( One more week at work and then I'm off for a fortnight - yippee! Take it easy, rider!
Greg. After e-mailing you, I decided to check the blog to make sure I didn't miss any recent postings. Because I subscribe to your blog in a feed reader, I totally missed the audio when this post was originally put on the blog. Gosh, what an intimate way to experience this poem. It's so meaningful. Very, very meaningful.
Hey, LSL... yes, I've started recording most of my more recent poems and you'll find audio for the other poem I've posted here ("Mother") on my other blog "Losing My Grip". I did have audio for that up on this one for a few days and then felt strange about it. I worried that some of the people I've been chatting with for YEARS now might freak out when they heard my nasal English accent and find it distancing. This time around I thought "What the hell? It's a slow month!" Ha Ha... I'm just responding to your email now - lovely to hear from you.
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