Gregory Richard Barden | + Follow Poet |
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Just Love Remains

I fear I'm losing patience in the midst of your neglect,
          It keeps hounding me like stations of the cross ...
               And a cardiac ablation holds more pleasure, I suspect,
     Though the very same dear organ feels the loss.

Six decades have now passed without a sign of amity,
          All your focus on my failures and mistakes ...
               For eyes like yours are monochrome, incapable to see
     What a lifelong search for purpose sometimes takes.

For you success is money, it's how your life is skewed,
          But I'll never see this spinning world the same ...
               For me there is a balance, heeding all that is imbued,
     With much that can't be seen or given name.

I hoped that in our later years we might yet reconcile,
          And find a peaceful shore where we'd connect ...
               But you now specialize in squeezing grimaces from smiles,
     Thus, our waters churn with mutual disrespect.

Oh, I will always love you, as you tried your best to be
          A provider who could work and scold and boast ...
               But most kids want a daddy who can care and touch and see
     That love is what their children need the most ...

And when it's come to such ... you've been a ghost.




* Dementia pulls a number of extraordinary things from everyone, including the patient, and you discover some rather odd emotions throughout the process, one of which can be caring for someone who has never cared for YOU ... love becomes very basic, and keeps all in the proper perspective. *

Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden | Year Posted 2019

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John Hamilton Date: 6/30/2019 1:11:00 PM Oh Greg I feel this one deep...such a shame..it should be easy to love and be loved by a father, I understand!! Login to Reply Gregory Richard Barden Date: 6/30/2019 8:28:00 PM (2) When you're deep into cleaning up a mess made by someone who never gave you the time of day, (or being cussed), you have to keep those sacrifices clear ... they did their best with what they were given, and that's the bottom line. Blessings, my friend. Gregory Richard Barden Date: 6/30/2019 8:27:00 PM Thank you, my friend, I was hoping you'd get to see this one, as I knew you'd probably relate ... love keeps everything in the proper perspective, but life sure does test us at times, and tests the value of those bonds ...