Shattered (2022 NaPoWriMo #15)

May might be here but I’m still working through the NaPoWriMo – 30 Poems in 30 Days prompts since I discovered them late.

Prompt 15

Write a poem about something you have absolutely no interest in.

NaPoWriMo.net

What a curious prompt. What could I possibly be aggressively uninterested in (and willing to write a poem about)?

Well the answer to this question is (and is not) below. Life throws at us challenges on it’s own schedule and this one came between starting this post/reading the prompt and writing the poem. Read the poem then I’ll share a bit more about what I mean.

Shattered

I’ve no interest in being here
No interest in seeing your pain
Of being by your side as you call out for help
As your shattered bones burn fire

I wish I was anywhere else but here
Somewhere where I don’t hear your cries
Where the lights aren’t glaringly bright
And the air doesn’t smell like disinfectant

I don’t want to be here
To share you with nurses and doctors
To watch them care for you in ways I can’t
To feel helpless to help you.

I wish to turn back time
To be the one driving, crashing, breaking
To be the one crying out for help
The one laying here shattered

I want to be the center of attention
The focus of all the nurses and doctors
The recipient of the morphine drips
And a rainbow cocktail of pills

I want you to be at my bedside
Whole and healthy
The strong, confident woman
That knows exactly what is needed

I’ve no interest in being here, but I am
I’m here to hold your hand and listen to your cries
I’m here to do the heavy lifting when needed
I’m here even though I’m helpless to help you

I wish to be anywhere but here, but my wish won’t be coming true
Selfishly I want to be the broken one, not you
But wishful thinking will not take away your pain
Nor will it help mend your shattered bones

So here I stay doing the best that I can do
Exactly where I belong, helplessly loving you

As you can probably tell to some extent from the poem, I’m currently in the hospital with my wife who had a bad accident and shattered her leg. While she is in serious pain, she is stable and will be ok. We are currently awaiting the swelling to recede so she can have surgery. Pain management is the biggest challenge. Hopefully by this time next week the surgery will be complete and she can start the journey of recovery.

While I didn’t live into the intent of the prompt, I’m counting this one as done. It was what I needed to express and write and that is good enough for me.

Be well,

Monty

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• REDACTED
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