Envious
I’m green with envy
Hearing you complain
About having to care for
Your aging father
It’s such a burden you say
What I wouldn’t give
To be planning my daddy’s
95th birthday party today
But there’s no party
No celebration
Only wishing him near
__________________________________
The prompt today at dVerse Poets Pub today is to write a Quadrille (44 words exactly) using the word “green.” The prompt isn’t live yet in my time zone, but I peeked at some other poets who have their poems up already to find out what the required word is.
My dad would have been 95, but he died 23 years ago so this is as close as I’ll get to celebrating his birthday.
Share this:
Your words say it perfectly…oh, how I wish I could care for those who have gone before me. I miss them so!
This was short, but powerful. I feel the loss of my father often and can relate to your pain.
Being a carer can be very arduous. (It’s good to get all the support services available, if possible, to help.) However, feeling the strain is very different from regarding it as a burden.
True, but I’m envious just the same.
No celebration
Only wishing him near
Appreciating they are there then! How noble of you Linda! That is true. They don’t expect anything extra. Just be nice and they’ll be forever grateful. Others who have lost their parents are the ones who suffer not the ones having to look after them.
Hank
Really well done. A wealth of emotion goes into those 44 words.
You not only rocked the prompt, but personalized it; packing a lot of honest emotion into a few score of words; nice job. My parents died young, mother at 39, father at 53; cancer the culprit.
Cancer was the culprit with both of my parents as well. And they weren’t young when I was born — 38 and 43 — so I was relatively young when they both died.
Very tender….I felt this way before, even angry, hearing complaints about mothers
I’ve lost both of my parents and I miss them. I focused on my dad in this because it was his birthday, but I feel the same about my mother.
This makes me sad … missing my daddy. 🙁
I’m sorry for your loss. 🙁
Oh, Linda, I recognise that feeling.
Oh how quick we are to complain about that which others would gladly trade us for!
A good reminder to treasure the moments we spend with our love ones. Poignant piece. 🙂 I’m sure your dad is smiling happily knowing that he’ll be in your heart and mind forever.
He was known for smiling a lot!
I’m sure he is.. “:)
The loss of a loved parent is hard to bear, even after a long time.
Tender.
So poignant.
A good message in your poem, Linda. I guess one of our human flaws is not appreciating what we have in the moment that we have it. That is a very sad trait when it comes to family.
I lost my dad 33 years ago. He was only 46. So many moments, happy and sad without him.
Although we hope that children outlive their parents (because what parent wants to bury their child?), it is hard when parents die so young. I’m sorry for your loss of your dad.
Oh, Linda. This hits home. I am so very blessed to have both parents still living (in their early 70s). Thank you for the important reminder.
Cherish every moment you have with them. I hoped you are blessed to have them live to a ripe old age.
Very heart touching, Linda. Wish I could be planning a party for my parents. Do these people not think they were sometimes a burden to their parents when they were young? The time of the season changes for us all. Very loving poem.
Love as
close
as the
heARt
iS nEar..:)
Such a nice, sweet poem, in praise of remembering a loved one. Nice job.
Thank you.
My parents are still alive, though frail but still good, not falling into dementia ~ This is a lovely and moving tribute to your father ~
I understand both sides of this, Linda, as I see my mom at 95 slip deeper and deeper into dementia each time I visit. There are so many forms of loss. When I almost lost her in 1998, I was devastated–now I’m not so sure it wouldn’t have been kinder for her. She would not have wanted to be this way–but I believe God has a plan for us at every stage of life. I do sometimes question Him about this, though–and mosquitoes and earwigs!
I can understand that. I wouldn’t have wanted to watch either of my parents deal with dementia and am sorry you have to deal with that. We do all have our different (but similar) losses to deal with. As for me, I’m going to ask about ants as well. 🙂
My father would have been 96, Yes indeed. These people who complain about their blessings. I wish I could be planning a party for him. I wish my mother could get her memories back. Excellent write on this word.
Great take on the prompt….and you’ve hit on a truism for many people.
My dad would have been 99 this autumn… but when I see my mother wane, I feel almost relieved that he died without fading into dementia….
Watching a parent with dementia would be very hard.
My dad died six years ago this month. He would have been ninety-five on May 25th. What a coinky-dink, huh?