The Cruelty of Daylight-Saving Time For Anne, in the thinning light Daylight saving arrives; they tell us to spring forward, to claim another hour of sun, but I watch the clock betray us, an hour stolen, not earned. Anne, your strength dwindling as the calendar hurries on; the world insists on more light but..
Anne Listens to the Ethereal Music of Ludovico Einaudi In the hush of evening’s slow retreat, Anne drifts on gentle piano tides; Notes unfold like soft blankets, tracing memories over the contours of her quiet room. Every chord holds a breath, a promise, spilling light into corners where fear once gathered. Einaudi’s music enters..
Falling in Love with another Anne Or how I’ve fallen madly in love with the same, yet radically different, woman twice Once feisty Anne, her laughter sharp, opinion a shield, principle her armour, she’d pace the halls of life, anxiety folded taut, but neat, beneath a silk scarf, eyes tracing the lines of every..
Anne’s Song A Free Verse Poem You have always kept your songs close, Quiet as sunrise tucked behind evening curtains, Shy – embarrassed, you say – Afraid the melody might stumble, That your voice might stray from the path, That the world would hear you sing And think the tune misplaced. But I have listened,..
Anne’s Zen Transformation Free Verse on Illness and Becoming Anne’s face, once sharp as the wind against January skin, has softened, a gentle moon swelling beneath the touch of medication. Her body rounds, moves differently in the world, each curve a quiet rebellion against past angularities, as if the cosmos itself has decided to cradle..
Nightmare of Letting Go (In response to the Mary Oliver quote below) Shadows will linger where your laughter used to thrive, Night’s edges have begun to sharpen with the ache of impending absence. I will reach for you and grasp only emptiness; Our space, so much colder, will have betrayed my trembling hope. Memories will..
Anne: Laughing Heartily in the Darkness In the marrow of winter, when the world outside is a hush and grief gnaws the bones of night, somehow, laughter bubbles up, raw, defiant, unstoppable. We hold each other, trembling, as if clasping the last ember before the onset of eternal darkness. Your eyes, Anne, flicker with..
Laughing Through the Shadows Morning breaks, gentle, uncertain, and I reach for laughter—old jokes, tacky songs, borrowed lines, anything to bring the light back to your eyes. Your smile, the way it sparks even now, is worth every battle, every stumble. Coffee spills across the counter, we shimmy in the kitchen, I deliberately croon..
My Cup Runneth Over: A Home Care Vignette* A sticky moment of sadness, laughter, and vitamin E oil It began with hope and a small bottle of vitamin E oil, clutched in the determined hands of our personal support worker. Her voice was resolute as she brashly explained her plan for Anne’s hair, which had..
Palliative Care Hair A free verse poem celebrating Anne’s first visit to the hairdresser since the onset of her disease Today, Anne’s scalp blooms again— silver tufts bristle through the thaw of winter, as if the dawn has stroked the frost from barren fields. The salon chair rises to cradle her— throne of gentle..