POEMS,2008 - CAROL RICHARDS SHARPE
POEMS, 2008 - By Carol Richards Sharpe © 2008, 2009
Other verses: POEMS, 1940,
POEMS, 1941,
POEMS, 1946,
POEMS, 2007,
POEMS II, 2007
POEMS, 2009
and
KATE MCCUSKEY
1. October (10/16/07)
The woods are copper and
You can drink the air and the
Tall stand of pines by the
Employees parking lot is
Whispering about winter.
But there is hope , for the
Indians are two up on Boston
And the Browns won last sunday and
Ohio can always, always hope.
Well, maybe, Lyle says, maybe the Series.
[Home]
2. Friday Afternoon (10/19/07)
Side by side in our chairs
With black clouds boiling
Overhead we talked about
Simple facts in our lives.
Dave had spent his early
Afternoon on the toilet. I was
Fighting sleepiness. Behind us
Dried cornstalks whispered and
We admired the display of big
Pumpkins until someone
Called us in to happy hour
Where songs were sung and we
Had plates of cheese and crackers
With, and this was the big deal,
Cans of Coors Light and throughout
The largely silent gathering
Memories gathered and clamored.
'Yeah,' dave said with a wry smile-
'Good night, Irene, o yeah.'
[Home]
3. My House, My Tools, My Life (11/18/07)
Lyle said, 'I walked out of my house one day
And as it happened I never went back. My tools.
I don't know who got my tools. I got no thanks.'
He smiled. 'They were on the wall you know
And I could tell at a glance if one went missing.
I could go down the basement steps and look
And I would say to the wife, did you take my
Screwdriver? And when she said yes and it was
Most always her, she would take it and then
Get, you know, busy and she would lay it down,
Just plain forget it and I knew exactly where
It should go.' 'Yeah. Lyle, I know,' Dave said. 'I had
Craftsman and I wouldn't have anything but Craftsman.
If something went wrong you could return it
And they would exchange it, no questions asked,
Even if I had it for years.' 'Yes,' Lyle said, 'they were
The best.' He looked at Dave and Dave looked at him,
and they clinked their ice tea glasses. Clink.
[Home]
4. R. I. P. (12/10/07)
When they were no longer useful
Ancient eskimos put their elderly on
Ice floes
And set them
Adrift: men
Who could no longer hunt and
Women who lacked teeth
To make skins pliant by chewing them
In order to fashion clothing.
As I travel our hallways
I look into rooms
Warm with christmas lights
And see old people idle,
Largely so idle or all looking out
At the parking lots where young
Visitors
Take great care not to slip and fall
On the ice.
[Home]
5. Sadie Died(01/04/08)
To begin with I was wearing
Warm pants and a denim shirt.
Underwear of course.
Well, in order to go out
I added a blue L. L. Bean
Turtleneck, a purple sweater,
Green pullover jacket, a green hat
Pulled down low on my ears, green
Mittens, the nice blue scarf
Jenny had made for me and then
Stuffed some Granny Smiths in my
Pockets for the deer. Out the door.
O yes and don't forget the dark glasses,
Necessary since cataract surgery.
Well, the wheelchair couldn't
Gain traction because of the rock salt
On the sidewalk. I nearly upended,
Threw the apples toward the woods
And noticed my heart was banging hard.
Well. The snot froze in the cannula.
Hard to get a breath. Started for
The front door. Three people walked out.
Shall I ask for help? No. Some other time.
Back inside I asked the nurse, 'What time
Did Sadie die last night?' And she said, 'Two.
They toileted her at midnight and she was OK,
But when they went back at two she was
Gone.' I said, 'I complained last week because
They were waking me up every night when they
Came to take care of her but last night
I slept like a baby, didn't hear a thing.'
She said, 'Funny how that goes. I was
Surprised to see you go by the window.
Isn't it too cold outside?' I said, 'O yeah.
You better believe it's too cold outside.
[Home]
6. Evening (01/07/08)
'I no longer inhabit
The real world,' Leona said.
'What makes you think that?'
Lyle wanted to know.
'I don't understand cell phones;
I have never texted anyone.'
Leona said. Lyle laughed.
'Do you really give a dang?'
He said. 'Well no I guess
I don't,' Leona said. 'I
Just sometimes think I oughta.'
[Home]
7. Lunch (02/05/08)
'Which Manning do you like better?'
Lyle asked Dave, 'Eli or whatshis name?'
'O Eli ,' Dave said. 'Just the way he
Stands there,' Mary said. 'He doesnt
throw too bad either.' But they tended
To ignore her because she was a woman.
But Steven turned his blind face to her
And said, 'Ma'am, when you finish could you
Find someone to take me?' 'OK,' Mary said,
'Where is it you need to go?' Very quietly,
Steven said, 'Home.' And Lyle asked her,
'Where does he want to go?' 'Home,' she said.
Lyle and Mary exchanged a look.
Dave said, 'Hey, today is Fat Tuesday.'
'In New England,' Mary said,, 'It's Mahdey Grar.'
[Home]
8. Another Shooting (2/16/08)
Here we old people inhabit
The university of
The mind, dining
With no fear of being
Assaulted by a young man
With deadly intention.
But what if he suddenly
Appeared in our doorway?
How many of us would
Go down, how would
Our families try to
Calculate the loss?
[Home]
9. Happy Hour 02/20/08
Friday. I've been thinking.
Anything special? No.
Just defining stuff, like
The flagpole is
A flagpole. Bill Clinton
Would like that
Definition. It is
What it is. We laughed.
'If you agree
That is is.' And we laughed.
[Home]
10. She is Risen (02/27/08)
After 48 hours or more of the
24 hour flu, I returned to the dining room
Where I learned Dave was back from
The hospital, hydrated but very sad. At table,
Steven told us he had four teeth pulled.
Daisy had died. On my way to my room
I would pass hers. Her door was locked
Until the family came. Across from me,
Greta had pulled loose her colostomy bag
One too many times: she was now with al
Hymer. During my absence she had one day
Doused the dining room with her shit, patted it,
Spread it all around, offered some to others.
'Are you going to bingo tonight?' Lyle wondered.
'No. No bingo.' Some days are worse than others.
[Home]
11. Gone (3/18/08)
Across the parking lot
we watch two deer
Grazing in the snow bank.
It is all we have this evening.
Gone are all our snow shovels,
Icy walks, balky cars.
Spicy chili on the stove.
We have popcorn but not
With kids. No Easter baskets,
No eggs to dye. When spring comes
We dont worry about grass
Growing, the mower, rakes
And shovels. Where is all that?
All gone my friend, says Lyle.
'What do you miss most?'
I ask him. 'Oh, jumping
In the car to go to the
Drugstore to pick up the
Little things, the stuff I need.'
[Home]
12. The Campaign (03/25/08)
On this day of brilliant skies
When hillary is caught up in
Her story of walking through
Sniper fire all I have to
Worry about is
A smashed bird feeder.
Did fat birds weigh it down
Or was it the march wind,
So quick, so frigid, so strong.
It was a lovely painted
Ceramic feeder. Lyle asks me,
'Made in China was it?'
[Home]
13. We Wait (04/03/08)
All one's life it is important to
Do well in order to be
Able to go home and relax
With friends and family.
Now no matter how one tries
There is no going home -
Except for the scary one.
And so most of us sit
In front of the big window
And we wait, my friend. We wait.
[Home]
14. Mary and Lyle Think It Over (04/14/08)
Mary said, 'A West Coast
Friend of my brother says
Being here is like being in
Prison.' Lyle said, 'OK. Yeah.
Except you and I dont know
Our length of confinement,
Let alone what crime we have
Committed.' 'Old age,' Mary said.
'The crime of getting too old.'
[Home]
15. Table Two (03/16/08)
Leona, Norma, Lucy and Mae
Studied the first dinner course
And: 'Notice,' Leona rasped,
'Soup bowls half full tonight.'
'Yes,' Norma said. 'How many
tablespoons?' Leona said, 'Six
maybe.' All four asked for soupspoons.
A tall skinny caregiver told them
'There arent any soupspoons now.'
As he walked off, Mae said,
'Look where the crotch of his pants is.'
'I know,' Lucy said,'Between his knees.
Mr. Crack. Here come our sandwiches.'
Leona felt hers. 'Mine is cold, my
sandwich is cold,' she told Crack.
'I'll heat that up for you,' Crack said.
'My grilled cheese was cold,' Leona said.
When her plate was returned with cheese
Running everywhere, Leona stood,
Shoved her canula further up her nose,
Maneuvered her walker into the kitchen
And shouted, 'I can't eat this. Fix it.'
A young girl caregiver took the plate,
Saying, 'Leona sit down, you'll fall.'
When the plate was returned Leona
Burst into tears, cried, 'I can't, I wont
Eat this!' limped into the kitchen
Shouting, 'I am going to have a
Grilled
Cheese
Sandwich
If I have to
Make the damn thing
Myself.'
This morning after breakfast
I saw her in the hallway
In her pink robe and slippers.
'Did you get your sandwich?'
She gave me a vacant stare and then
A wide smile and then said,
'I dont remember. I dont know.'
[Home]
16. Back From the ICU (05/01/08)
As I noticed yesterday when
The ambulance guy turned the corner,
Mine is now the saddest room
Because the birdfeeder is empty.
And the drivers kept me on
The gurney in the hallway until
They had opened windows,
Saying 'Someone had your heat
Turned up,' and as one, a student of
Philosophy told me, 'somebody screwed
With your thermostat' and they
Left me alone on my bed. It was
A long while before anyone came -
A lovely Japanese lady who brought
Ice water and helped me into the bed.
Luckily there is always tomorrow, for
Maybe someone will have time to
Fill the bird feeder with fresh seeds.