Sickness poems

Shell of a person i once knew

- by Juli Nielsen 59

You're the shell of the person I once knew
When I talk I know you can hear
But I barely feel your spirit lingering near

You've given up… at least part way
I can't help but envision the words that you'd say
If you weren't the shell of a person I once knew.

You express your love for me, but that's just it
You'd rather I come and quietly sit
I wish you were more than the shell of a person I once knew.

I love you with all of my heart and soul
Sometimes I feel like I'm losing control
Because it's hard to see the shell of a person I once knew.

My heart hurts because I know you're aching
Your body's there, but it's just the casing
It's the shell of a person I once knew.

I don't want you to die; I'd be left here on earth
But passing on brings peace and rebirth.
You'd be more than the shell of a person I once knew.

It's your choice in the end to fight or give up.
It's not our actions that define when or what…
Please be more than the shell of a person I once knew.

Release your spirit to Heavenly Father's grace
Only then will you see his kind, smiling face.
No longer a shell of a person I once knew.

You'd be free from all the worldly limitations.
In heaven you'd be expressing exclamations,
Freed from the shell of a person I once knew.

You're not really the shell of a person I once knew,
You're my mother and I love you.
You're not a burden that I heavily have to bear
You're strength, inspiration, and care.
You're kind and loving and all that I aspire to be
It's selfish to want to keep you here close to me.

You get to choose how long you want to stay
So I'll keep on coming every day
I'll rub your feet and scratch your back
Read you your line up and help you take a bath.

Mom, take your time, it's patience I'm learning
I'm developing and my soul's constantly yearning.
Each lesson is coming… selflessness and humility
You're who I want to be.

A forgotten life

- by Linda Harrison 58

She resides in a home, sits in a chair
Nothing to bother her, make her worry or care.
Carers to help her wash and dress
Doing all that they can not to cause her distress.
She smiles and accepts the care that they give
the meals and the medicines she depends on to live.

Her mind should have memories both good and bad
Why can't she remember the life she once had.
Not aware of the people who came to see her today
or what they told her, or how long the stay.

Family and friends she no longer knows
Just a flicker of remembrance occasionally shows.
The memories are gone, now just a blank empty space
Remembering nothing she had before she came to this place.

Is she sad and afraid, she can't let us know
Because these are emotions she's unable to show.
All that's changed is her mind, she is still there
The same person for whom I always will care.
I'll always remember what she means to me
Because she's my mum, who else could she be.