Dear Twenty-Two,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I\u2019m only going to shout this once;<\/p>\n
my mouth hurts,<\/p>\n
my throat,<\/p>\n
my teeth,<\/p>\n
my heart and soul.<\/p>\n
So, listen up!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I remember\u2014<\/p>\n
You are incredibly overwhelmed,<\/p>\n
changing the bedpan,<\/p>\n
keeping the sheets clean,<\/p>\n
muting your heartache.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your emotions are jangled.<\/p>\n
You are a mess.<\/p>\n
Yet, you are holding it together. \u00a0 Really together.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Three things I would impart<\/p>\n
And pray they find your heart:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When she dies, she will be gone forever.<\/p>\n
No one ever understands that until it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n
You think you do; you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take time to hold her hand,<\/p>\n
as well as change the bedpan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take time to smooth her sore shoulders,<\/p>\n
as well as the sheets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take a breath, a deep one,<\/p>\n
and let her scent linger,<\/p>\n
embedded in your memory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take time to let her frail arms hold you;<\/p>\n
You are going to need it later,<\/p>\n
when there are no long hugs<\/p>\n
to keep you from shaking,<\/p>\n
from shattering\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When I have none, but those remembered.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cry. It\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n
I remember\u2014<\/p>\n
you think it will make her sad,<\/p>\n
cause her more pain,<\/p>\n
look like you can\u2019t handle the job.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter if you can handle it;<\/p>\n
It matters if she knows you feel the sorrow too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
II<\/p>\n
You are going to need to recall these emotions\u2014<\/p>\n
How she handles it with grace,<\/p>\n
no matter how undignified<\/p>\n
the hair loss,<\/p>\n
the vomit,<\/p>\n
the over-medicated moments.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How her abilities vanish,<\/p>\n
one by one,<\/p>\n
and she pretends\u2026<\/p>\n
she doesn\u2019t notice you noticing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How to walk tall\u2014<\/p>\n
even from a wheelchair,<\/p>\n
a scarf on your head,<\/p>\n
a bruised vein in your arm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You. Will. Need. To. Know. This. Later.<\/p>\n
There is a final exam.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
III Final Point<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let the lessons slide:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Someday,<\/p>\n
you will have daughters<\/p>\n
who need to be told\u2014<\/p>\n
over and over again\u2014<\/p>\n
that your pain is\u2026<\/p>\n
Not. Their. Fault.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That<\/p>\n
Every<\/p>\n
Little<\/p>\n
Thing<\/p>\n
they do for your comfort,<\/p>\n
is a gift<\/p>\n
you receive,<\/p>\n
welcome,<\/p>\n
and cherish.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You will need<\/p>\n
to build moments,<\/p>\n
just like Mom does,<\/p>\n
that will be engraved<\/p>\n
on their hearts\u2014<\/p>\n
Moments<\/p>\n
of joy,<\/p>\n
of selflessness,<\/p>\n
of unbelievable strength through tears\u2014<\/p>\n
because that is what she taught you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That is your legacy,<\/p>\n
from her,<\/p>\n
to us,<\/p>\n
to the next generation<\/p>\n
of beautifully strong women.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Women of dignity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Women of courage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whose glory is not their hair\u2026but their heart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dear Twenty-Three,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She is gone.<\/p>\n
You did your best. I remember\u2014<\/p>\n
Now, breathe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Twenty-Two, I\u2019m only going to shout this once; my mouth hurts, my throat, my teeth, my heart and soul. So, listen up! I remember\u2014 You are incredibly overwhelmed, changing the bedpan, keeping the sheets clean, muting your heartache. Your emotions are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53820"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86785,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820\/revisions\/86785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}