The Visitor

Being an advocate for our seniors , always creating awareness for the importance of visiting the seniors, now that privilege has been removed…Amidst the world chaos struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, the awareness is still a valid cause. This poem speaks of what it means to an elderly soul who spends day after day in a long term care home and then is blessed with a visitor. Now with strong measures in place with no visitors allowed to help fight against Covid-19 in the homes. Please say a prayer for these dear loved ones. I wonder if the saying applies, “you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone”  

Morning dew
cool tired feet
caressing each step
I feel relief,
drowsy daisies
start to stretch
welcoming warmth
from evenings slumber

Relief though faint
strength is gained
amidst the
dawning glory,
unfolding promise
clings with certain
embracing grace
with daylight hues

Meadows green
of afternoon
the comfort of
someones touch,
the lonely ends
as smiles begin
welcoming love
amid the words

Once again
the cool returns
yellowing rays
turn into gold,
I bid farewell
a day well spent
contentment folds in
peaceful rest

KJS

I want to add a very important note, a huge thank you and prayers to all our health care workers putting their lives on the line everyday to care for our dear seniors. God bless them and keep them safe ❤

#Covid19 #seniors #elderly #visiting #seniorhomes #longtermcare #prayers#awareness #advocate #poetry

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Denial

No hidden code to cypher

as ink on cotton stained

a neon sign it blinds the truth

is it easy to walk away?

Be direct this is no riddle

without an answer in a rhyme 

gaze upon the mirrored reflection

no crystal ball through time

Seniors now for once were youth

do we feel exempt?

denial devised to sacrifice truth

I hear the echoes of the steps

KJS

Amidst youth or mid life strides, it is very easy to push the truth back out of the way replacing it with myths that growing old is so far down the road; the truth is, it is on our back porch, and we will be stepping down placing our feet on the same path of life’s fragility. 

Let’s join our voices in fighting for change, in creating that very important communication concerning end of life care, and the dignity, respect, privacy and compassion that are not only deserved but is crucial for the quality of life in seniors twilight years when they are taking their final steps on this earth.

For every like comment and share you are helping with this awareness. Thank you ❤ 

 

#seniors #elderly #life #pathway #sacrifice #truth #change #communication #exempt #denial #needed #care #dignity #respect #privacy #earned #deserved #awareness #poetry

 

Failing Footholds

Raising awareness through poetry for our dear seniors & elderly. Advocates are a necessity of life for these dear souls  With every like share and comment you are helping create awareness. Thank you.

Failing Footholds

Hushed summer breezes fill the air
as silent lullabies calm the heart
cradled in promise we wait for the grace
to whom shall we go if we cannot walk

Absence of light the eyes are wearied
suspended in darkness lost voice of the soul
answers are hidden to questions not spoken
to whom shall we speak if we cannot talk

Beyond explanations intent of meaning
further than strength we lose our way
falling prey to no new beginnings
stumbling through life our only survival

KJS

The Embrace

Sustain my heart 

with a long good bye

watching you leave 

till your shadow dissolves

into tears of longing 

oh… not to be left behind!

 

Weary eyes that

give way to rest

slipping into dreams

of yesterdays 

oh… familiar caresses! 

from one who went before

 

Oh…what is this! 

new life of watching

waiting and wondering

a world where 

days are echoed 

with such continual emptiness

 

Pleadings with prayer 

oh…God help me!

release my body

from this prison

filled with little dignity

and racked with pain and sorrow

 

Respect of a life 

the sword is raised

shrouded by heaviness

of grieving and death

oh…arms are lifted!

as breath turns into embrace

KJS

 

Photo compliments of Joyce Peters ❤

Faith Beyond The Chains

No recognition in the brown of her eyes
i miss the touch of her voiced memories
one by one they vanish leaving me with sorrow
and her with outbursts fuelled by frustration

We continue to guess what may be the cause
surmise to bring small comforts
conclusions masked with bitter hurt
but there are no winners here at all

Endless hallways tiled with failed circumstances
fallen between the cracks awaiting fulfillment
become dormant part of the crumbled plaster
given up by the deteriorating walls of hope

Heavy chained to the demon
barred from reality there is no key
the lock corroded with prescriptions of
empty promises bandaids for remaining life

 

KJS2018

Dedicated to my dear mom who battled dementia for over 8 years, and went home to Glory July 5, 2017 on the wings of angels and a song by her 5 robins ❤

 

 

The Farewell

Summer skies evolve
into Autumn greys
extending limits
of no return

Chilly winds dictate
a cloak of caution
in return giving security
against uncertainties

Comforting glances
just remnants of fabric
past garments of familiar
caresses and smiles

Melodies of heaven
beckon a weary soul
stanzas reach between realms
constricted in earthly struggle

love gathers on every side
farewells channelled through
hearts and tears that release
robins song GRACE she is home

 

KJS2018

 

 

 

Ravelled Rainbows

 

Leading up to July 5th, and here on after…
I love you mom…….

I do not just remember on this day, but every day.

When you come into this world, birthed by your mothers hard labour of love,
there is instant trust, and with each day that passes this trust of love grows to the strength of your whole being. As you grow and the world changes around you, one thing remains constant, strong and true, your mother’s love.
The love I speak of is now contained within my very being, stored up throughout the years for such a time as this
Never in all my years did I once give it a passing thought, a hint of worry, that I would not have my mother, she was always there, no matter what, when , how or when…she was always there!

Through eight years of caregiving for this generous precious soul I call mother, I can honestly say I stayed focused on her, not the what ifs…. and I have such wonderful memories, stored up from each moment spent with her.
There is too much to write, and the words continue to fail me as I dare describe what she means to me, and how I miss her touch however, I was blessed to have a peek into the very depths of her heart and soul before, between, and on the other side of that horrific disease dementia that she carried as her burden, her last struggle in this life. I can honestly say, “God bless you mom! I love you! You are alive in my heart and alongside of me through the rest of my journey here on this earth, Thank you”!

 

I feel the touch
of her warm weathered hand
her soft gentle voice
as it carries my soul,
over the years
to once upon her knee
where safe in her arms
I could weather my storms

In mind once traced
the lines of her face
etched in my heart
a canvas of love,
remembering whens
making changes along the way
revealing dreams
of her hearts hidden schemes

Ravelled edges
of hidden rainbows
remnants of joy
created through,
sunshine and tears,
In search of one memory
to take comfort in life
oh just one little memory!

Hushed melodies
once songs of faith
trickle through the
hidden corridors of loss,
beating against her armour
riveting waves that
fashion and fabricate
her very inner soul

The cool dew
caresses her toes
as she runs through
the meadows
with her loved ones
earthly battle vanishes
through her realm
of continual joy

Lovingly,
Kathy

KJS2018

 

In Mourning

Shards of thoughts prick my feet
Onward I trudge through sorrows path
Confusion adds to the process of joys
My weary mind not up to the math

I complicate daily with minor details
Choking the life right out of the song
Existence is taken without ones permission
Is this the truth…did we ever belong?

Mistakenly I veer to the side of unknown
This realm is beyond comprehension
Believing in hope convinced in the faith
My soul is released of the tension

KJS©

Mother’s Day Truths

Sunday is the official Mother’s Day, for me I celebrate my mom everyday, Love her! Miss her! and will never forget every second I was blessed to have her on this earth.

Today I met my mom
In her eyes I see my life
Her smile lit the candle of my heart
Her love breathed life into my soul

KJS

 

Silent Prayers Of Dementia

There are days when the rays
light the path to expectation
a glimmer of understanding
through a light touch
it thrills my heart
and lets me know
I m not alone

Many are the afternoons
when the clouds gather
I wait to see the break
…oft so many times
they will darken
anxious storms
are near

Lonely nights stretch into days
restless waiting for dreams
exhausted with counting
mirage of shadows
through meshed
confusion my
voice is silent

In this blackness a silent soul
finds an arbour of conveyance
through the dark He walks
holding my hand and
hearing my prayers
silent assurance
set free
~
KJS

 

Wrote this #poem awhile ago while I stood in the shadows of this giant demon #dementia …. So thankful our dear mother is now at peace ❤ safe within the arms of her Lord and reunited with her family and friends who went before her ❤ Her silent prayers were heard….

 

In loving memory of my dear mother who passed away July 5, 2017 at 7:30 in the morning while her robins sang a song of peace.