Don't Bother Me

Rescue the drowning and tie your shoestrings. - Thoreau

don't bother me

i'm walking in the rain

trying to find what's left of my brain

it's wet

it's cold

so do as you're told

i'm out of breath

soaked to the bone

breaking out of this nursing home

don't bother me

i'm running away from getting old

running away from the mold

running away from always being told

trying to get back to my house that's been sold

i'm getting away from this prison sentence stay

getting away from all the hair that's bald, blue and gray

and empty, clanking bottles of hairspray

don't bother trying to talk to me

i have nothing to say

besides, all it will do is burn another precious day

i want to be young and free

so whatever you do, please don't bother me

i don't like jello

or sitting in diapers that make your eyes burn because they're wet and yellow

don't worry about fluffing my pillow like a marshmallow

just bend down and fasten my orthopedic sneakers 

if you would, please, my good fellow

Author's Note

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Thomas W Case]

This one hurts in a quiet, humiliating way—and that’s exactly why it works. There’s dark humor here, but it’s the kind that comes from fear, not cleverness. The repetition of “don’t bother me” feels like a shield against what’s coming, and the nursing home details land hard without begging for sympathy. That last polite line is brutal—dignity clinging on by a thread. This reads like someone still fighting while the walls are closing in. Strong, uncomfortable, and honest.

[Pete]

sounds like you gleaned it all. what a great review - couldn't have explained it better myself. thanks twc. stay young if only on the inside!

[Betty Hermelee]

I would try to flee as well Pete....My dad was in a nursing home for two weeks, until he hated it so much that the family had to bring him home and that's where he ultimately died... you really can't run away from aging and illness...it creeps into your bones and remains there, no matter what you do .....you can't run away and that's what makes it so sad.... this goes eventually for all of us!
Warmly, B

[Pete]

saw my parents go through it. losing one's independence is not an easy thing to tolerate. thanks for sharing the understanding thoughts.

[Betty Hermelee]

My hubby lost it for some time, but has re-gained some independence with time...still, it's a gamble... and one must be diligent about it....
Warmly, B

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Pete,
Makes me think of my dad when he was in the dementia ward. I think he wanted to escape the place or perhaps just himself.
He was not one to be caged...but his mind put him in one.
And some of the lyrics in this remind me the Beatles' song "Don't Bother Me" written and sung by George.
That whole feeling of wanting to be left alone.
Really excellent poem.
j.

[Pete]

... independence, freedom and dignity so valuable to life - so highly valued. one time when i visited my father in a nursing home, as i was leaving, he rolled his wheel chair over to the window and yelled for me to take him home. i left in tears. thank you for sharing thoughts j.

[Buddhistboy73]

A humorous and witty poem about the process of ageing here...:)

You can really empathise with the protagonist in this poem....just don't bother me!!

These were my favourite lines:

so do as you're told
i'm out of breath
soaked to the bone
breaking out of this nursing home

Then a final humorous line....

Cheers Pete...

BB73

[Pete]

better to laugh than cry. probably not so funny when it is really us dealing with the unpleasant/unwanted situation.

[Samuel Dickens]

Very good writing--I like it. I wonder if nature never intended for us to grow so old that we couldn't take care of ourselves? It's a sad, sad situation for all involved, and I sure don't have a solution. My father was quite bitter when we put him in an old folks home, but it had to be done for his own safety. After some time, though, he seemed to like it. Once when I was there visiting with him, a poor old lady wandered all about, begging anyone she saw to please take her home. If only we could all stay in our familiar, comfortable abode until the lord takes us to our eternal home.

[Pete]

you pose an interesting question which can't be answered. i watched both parents go into an old folks home (for their own safety and good). they hated leaving their home and losing their independence. the only saving grace was that they were only there for 2-3 years and then passed peacefully without suffering, visiting them there was one of the hardest things i've ever had to do. my takeaway is that we shouldn't get too attached to this world and this life for it is short and temporary and our sense of dignity should not come from our condition (health, possessions or surroundings).

According to Ecclesistest 3:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

all life is precious and dear. we must have love, kindness, mercy and patience for next is our turn!

[emmajoygreen]

So often the elderly are taunted by age: it eats into them as if torture is their booked and ticketed end to life. How cruel is that. Yet, the elderly are walking history.

More often or not they are the wise who know so much and yet - too often are ignored when it comes to others seeking advice.
More often or not they are the forgotten who sit alone waiting for rubbish to be posted through the letter box because the sound could mean someone's remembered him or her.
More often or not it could be any one of us.

Your words are more than touching and should be, they should wrap around consciences here, there and everywhere. Respect via a few words, a wave or a nod show the aged are visible. Each and every thought of those simple words display everything due to someone who might have give a lifetime of respect to others by saving their lives, fighting for their country, for giving birth to their future.. and so forth til space applauds the aged.
This says it all:

'don't bother trying to talk to me
i have nothing to say
besides, all it will do is burn another precious day
i want to be young and free
so whatever you do, please don't bother me'

I've not gone, passed, died - yet.

SEE ME

[Pete]

treasured in their own right. a sad state that our elderly are warehoused, treated as burdens and not given the dignity they deserve as ought be. that's exactly what i was thinking when i penned this - someday that will be me! when will we all ever learn that all life is divinely precious and to be given all due respect?

[emmajoygreen]

Agreed - 100%, Pete. We learn more from the elderly and children than the ones in between!