ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Old Jack was at the shop today, he smiled as he left
It was the empty smile of the recently bereft
Or perhaps a grin of disbelief at how it came to be
That a man like him became a ‘regular’ for morning tea
For he’d worked his life a ‘loner’ but had joined the café scene
That’s what he did with Terri, and that was their routine
But now he can just simply ‘do’
The things they used to struggle through
He only cares for one – not two
With nothing in-between.

There was a rural holding that Jack hoped would one day ‘pay’
So he’d worked his days and nights and had toiled his youth away
If his wife and kids had hoped for more, they never came to ask
(And if Jack ever thought of coffee it would just be in a flask)
Breaking both his back and spirit until finally he sold
And returned to town to find that it was not just he grown old
For Terri’s mind was growing slow
And now the signs began to show
With no-one there but he to know
And watch it all unfold

The children pushed for nursing homes so Jack turned them aside
It was not a case of money, it was more a case of pride
He defied all opposition as the days grew ever grim
For if anyone was going to care, Jack said, it would be him
And while the family struggled with the trouble and the strife
Jack and Terri went for coffee, he her husband, she his wife.
As the mind deteriorates
What is left necessitates
The routine actions one creates
To make the most of ‘life’.

We used to say that Terri would miss Jack were he not there
But the truth was Terri probably would neither know nor care
So he walked her through her day and they kept to their routine
Of coffee shops, and libraries, and places in-between
And when she faded many gave a sigh of pure relief
‘She is not hurting now’ was what they offered for his grief
But only he would ever know
Just how he would miss her so
So now he goes where they would go
....and smiles in disbelief.

h

Hi Hully I enjoyed that write It is so true out in the country when you lose your partner loneliness is some thing that the city people would not really know.


Bill Williams the old battler

Great poem Hully. Sorry Bill, but country people don't have a monopoly on grief nor loneliness.

Fabulous poem, Hully. We have friends going through this at the moment - he has advanced Parkinsons, she has Alzheimers. He remembers, but cannot hold her - she can hold him, but doesn't remember.

It's so good to see these once "taboo" subjects being sensitively featured by our poets in their writing.

Cheers, Shelley.

You say the nicest things.

fanks all.

h

Beautiful words and so, so true - how often do we see the partner left behind as a 'lost' soul and so often even their friends exclude them from gatherings because they are now the odd man/woman out. Sensitively handled and nicely crafted Hully.

You've got a typo you might want to fix here - s/b through - The things they used to struggle though

.... just love the Human condition. Nailed it Mate - Nailed it!! ...

Your poem is so touching and poignant
Thank You
ValW

thankyou.
Thanks for the quality control Maureen !
I wrote this very quickly and it needs a good haircut, but it seems that the sentiment has been conveyed, so I suppose it has done its job.

h

Yes, you nailed the sentiment Hully. The trouble is that often the one with dementia is not the one suffering. I used to volunteer in a nursing home and one lady would tell me very excitedly that her father was coming to visit that day - she was happy. I played along.

Bill, don't underestimate the loneliness of the suburbs - it's something country folk don't know.

Heather