Spaceships - Slice of Life

Thank you so much to the SOL community whose kind words encourage me to continue to work on my writing. I especially appreciate Two Writing Teachers for hosting this weekly event. 

Since January, my mother languished in the hospital. Writing kept me sort of grounded. Words clamoured their way out of me whenever and wherever they wanted. I've continued to work on a few of these pieces. This poem was written after Mom was transferred to the palliative care ward. A tender intimacy develops there between staff and patients and families. 

Spaceships

Here on this space station
We are not the astronauts
This is not the arrival gate

We wander the halls of the departure area
Find refuge in small rooms,
Make coffee,
Smile at one another,
Make eye contact,
Exchange names,
Ask about each other's travelers.

Occasionally, we celebrate.
A departure is delayed.

We know (without words)
Their ships launch them into unknown galaxies.
Our only certainty,
They won't be coming back.


18 comments:

  1. Ive been there and you remind me of the best of this experience... Loved your poem :)
    Bonnie

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    1. Thanks Bonnie. There are always jewels in the midst of dark times.

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  2. Wow! What a powerful poem! I'm glad that you were able to take some comfort in writing during such a difficult time. Sometimes I wonder if writing allows me to take a step back even while I'm focusing on that moment--it allows me a distance--sort of like a photographer looking through a lens. For me that distance sometimes is essential for processing difficult and powerful emotions. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you so much for this comment. I hadn't really looked at, but I see exactly what you mean. I think for me, especially when the emotions are really intense, it also reminds me that this stuff won't overwhelm me completely, and that, no matter what, I will cope.

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  3. I, too, have been on the receiving end of the kindness of hospice nurses and caregivers as my own mother succumbed to ALS. The sci-fi lover in me really enjoyed your spaceship analogy--such a different but appropriate description for this time of transition. Thanks for sharing such an intimate experience with us.

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    1. It is such an alien kind of ambience - we never made it to the hospice. There is a sterility at the same time as they try to make it homey, at least in places. It felt like being in an airport waiting for something to happen - someone to leave.

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  4. I have spent m14 years visiting a palliative care ward and your poem does a very good job describing it.

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    1. Thanks Bernadette. It's a strange place to be in, comforting and alien all at the same time.

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  5. A poignant metaphor for this time, Cheriee. I've been there, too, and think you've shown us the feeling well, seeing those travelers off on their personal journeys. I love that you have this poem for you, and thank you for sharing it with us, too.

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    1. Thanks Linda. I think this seeing someone off is more common than we realize when we are in the middle of it ourselves.

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  6. What a beautiful metaphor...I've been here, too, and take comfort in your poem.

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    1. I'm so glad Tara! I appreciated how connected we were to others in the middle of such heartbreak.

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  7. Sometimes it is really hard to write about this hard stuff, but it has to come out...This is a piece from the heart, one that tugs and draws a tear or two...the beauty in the emotion and in the words to describe it. I understand too well, and am all too recently, the experience that you live, and I find comfort knowing that your experience is positive, even though there is no return and the situation is difficult. I think in care versus in home renders different experiences, however...Big hugs to you as you continue to live the hard stuff life throws your way. Maribethbatcho.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks Maribeth. We had plans for a different scenario for mom, but her condition deteriorated so very fast that our options disintegrated. My mother, a former nurse, wanted all along to die in the palliative care ward where her niece worked. She got this final wish.

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  8. Launching a ship that won't come back. (Sigh.) That thought is going to stick with me for a while, Cheriee.

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    1. Thanks Brian. This is a time when I wished I could believe in more, but this is what I know for certain.

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  9. Thank you for sharing. Your poem conveyed that sense of the unknown. I hope that your writing brings you comfort.

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