Only Yesterday

A trip to buy Christmas cards and mail packages inspired the following poem. Such small pleasant tasks… and yet they left me unsteady on my feet, muddle-headed, and fatigued beyond belief. I shook my head. How can this be? It wasn’t all that long ago that I was an active, go-for-it person. I’ve gone from vibrant to enfeeble in a matter of months.

Blessings, blessings, blessings. I repeat that to myself many times a day as a reminder to look for the good things in my life. The snow that continues to fall over Bellingham is a beautiful thing; the bald eagle I can see circling overhead as I write this posting; Tarceva, my new drug treatment that brings a renewal of hope; and through the drug company we may have found an organization that will assist us in covering the extremely high cost of co-pay. Blessings.

ONLY YESTERDAY

Not so long ago I whacked out brush
Cleared the streambed
Trimmed branches from the hemlock
And fir… and
Hauled it all up a steep bank

I dug deep in the garden
Added compost to the soil
Squatted between rows to
Plant seedlings and onion sets
Not so long ago

Now I hold a cane
Hang tightly to Bob’s arm
The dizziness comes and goes
Go slow - I must catch my breath
I’ll stay here
You go
I’m too tired.

... P. L. Morningstar