The Long Goodbye

Just a smile...a hug...or just holding someone's hand, gives them validation....just try it and their smiles will break your heart!

The Long Goodbye

 

Sitting in wheel chairs

Lined up in a row

Just staring in space

They’ve nowhere to go

Vacant faces…empty eyes

People scurrying past

Ignoring their cries

Most are alone now

No one to lean on

They call out to loved ones

Long dead and gone

There is no present…only the past

Recalling their youth

While their memories last

 

When you rush down the corridor

As you hasten to leave

And you feel a gnarled hand

As it tugs on your sleeve

Hold it tight…give them a smile

They’d be so grateful

If you stayed awhile

Is there no one

Who will hear their cry?

They did not choose

This long goodbye

Yet here they sit

And they wonder

…WHY?

Copyright2000 Beatrice Boyle

(All rights reserved)

 

Author's Note

It only takes a moment to brighten someone's day...too often the lonley are forgotten.

Reviews

[Poeticpiers]

This got to me Bea I spent the last years of my working life as a social worker specialising n care of the elderly. So many have outlived family and friends and appreciate even a few minutes attention.