Jeanette Gallagher’s most recent poem to appear here was Praise (March 2012). About Timeless says “This poem is dedicated to my father, Ernest Hugh Crawford, who died when he was sixty-two. He was a talented writer and brilliant entrepreneur. He was a wonderful father to my two younger brothers and me.”
Timeless
By Jeanette Gallagher
The man sits inside a time warp
An oblivion that stretches into eternity
Where recuperation is meaningless
As hope at the sanitorium
His incarcerated mind is
Held by a stroke that
Obstructed the speech of a father
Who quoted Gandhi and sang lullabies
Visitors arrive for the time lock
Like tourists at a zoo
There to watch the monkeys wearing
Brown shirts, brown pants, and shoes
Perform for relatives who’ve traveled
Fifty miles to find the nothingness
In glazed eyes and voice still as stone
Time out of mind and beyond
Conversation stilted and shallow
Constricted and hollow
The mother explains departure
Before dark to traverse icy roads
While daughter cries in the corner
Their eyes lock in recognition
Only for a moment of peaceful knowing
This is their loving farewell
This is a poem that will touch all our hearts. Most of us can identify one way or another. Beautifully done.
Love the imagery in this poem. In particular, stanzas 2-4 are vivid and a little haunting. Thank you for sharing this with your readers.
Sad, real. A wonderful tribute.
Oh, Jeannette. How beautifully written to not only the truth of the matter, but also the texture and feeling. Thank you so much for this poem.
Your lovely comment warms my heart. Thank you so very much, Jeanette C.
Jeanette G.
Thank you for your very kind words, Veronica. I so appreciate your comment about my poem.
Jeanette G.
Thank you for your kind comment about my poem, Bobbie. I appreciate the compliment so much.
Jeanette G.
Jeanette,
The exquisite pain of your father’s deterioratin and your sorrow are “Timeless” words that I will long remember.
Sharon