Comparisons
COMPARISONS
I sit here now back on my bed
Bandaged and still quite sore
I think back to my Mum and Dad
And all they both endured
My Dad he died of cancer
My Mum of MND
Both were unpleasant ways to go
Distressing all and me
My Dad he said the whole way through
That such things were quite shit
“It's not the hand that you get dealt”
“But how you play with it”
He played his days, diagnosis on
With courage and true grit
He even kept his old jumper
Into which he once had fit
In his last days his breath grew weak
He just slept more and more
No longer looked like my dear Dad
Not like he'd looked before
I wasn't with him in the end
When he drew his last breath
I wished I'd been to hold his hand
And hold him as he left
My Mum was strong for all of us
Who were then left behind
We tried to not upset her heart
She's say she didn't mind
We spoke of Dad and often laughed
But sometimes we just cried
It cuts us all when we all thought
Of just the way he died
Bereft of hope, robbed of his strength
Left just an empty shell
Locked up tight inside his frame
He must have gone through hell
Then comes my Mum, my guiding light
She strode right to the fore
She grasped the lead and stood up tall
And led us all once more
For 10 years plus she moved right on
Taking all in her stride
You could tell she missed my Dad
Some things you cannot hide
She too grew ill, and felt real weak
They couldn't find out why
When told that she was terminal
I just sat down and cried
“Why was this all happening now?”
“This all seems so unfair!”
My Mum just smiled, said “C'est la vie”
And sat back in her chair
We visited Mum alternate nights
Myself and partner Lynn
Some days we did a double shift
Although it did us in
I too got ill, not bad of course
But I could not visit
Aware of just how ill Mum was
But I could not risk it
Xmas '11 was an awful time
It really was so sad
Advancing days, time growing short
Not knowing how long we had
My Mum was now in her last days
She knew it too as well
It was just like a crap repeat
Of my Dads sheer hell
Her last day came, I got the call
As I put down the phone
I realised now straight away
I felt now so alone
An old orphan, a silly thought
No Dad and now no Mum
I waited for it all to stop
But no release would come
My world just stopped, the sun still shone
The world just turned each day
My heart was black, devoid of love
“I want to run away”
But that is not the man I am
I buckle but I do not fall
I'm bruised, and bashed and bloodied
But I am walking tall
I feel I am my fathers son
Much more now than before
For those having a real nightmare
I really do implore
Do not give up, do not back down
Stand up for what you feel
Don't be part of the machine
Do all that makes you real
Break down and cry and shout and swear
If its what gets you through
Who gives a damn what others think
Just be true to you
I didn't think I'd get over
Losing my dear old Mum
But now it's over 2 years on
And rarely I am glum
All I do is sit right down
And shut my eyes real tight
And I am back with Mum and Dad
And everything feels right
Whoever said the age old phrase
“Out of sight is out of mind”
Please send this silly sod to me
I'll boot their big behind
My Mum and Dad, live evermore
In cells and blood and mind
And through their kids and legacy
They both have left behind
Still here on earth not visible
Most of the time it's true
But I still sit and talk to them
As I would talk to you
I talk to them, you'll think I'm mad
I simply do not care
It just makes me feel really safe
To know that they're still there
So now I sit down in my room
Upon my empty bed
They both reside down here with me
Even though both are long dead
There's more to life than physical
Of this you can be sure
There's spirits, aura's genetics too
And feelings too are pure
So when I think of Dad and Mum
I sit down with a smile
And shut my eyes to be with them
For just a little while
I feel their warmth, deep in my soul
Just like a summers day
It brightens up my darkest times
And chases them away
I'll leave you now to close my eyes
And see them both again
I'll tell them that I spoke of them
With love and peace my friends
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Copyright © Rob Tierney | Year Posted 2014
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