Her thinning hair has turned gray and the lines in her face count the minutes <br />Separating her from joining her departed family and leaving me for now <br />The voice she struggles to use had once been strong and vibrant <br />It could bellow out our respective names as loud as any dinner bell <br />And yet still comfort our little boo boos and calm our greatest fears <br />As no other voice ever again could or would <br />Her hand shakes with Parkinson’s as she reaches to pull me close and kiss my head <br />With her dry lips pressed thin and her eyes glassy <br />From the debilitating medication of growing old <br />She calls me her Teddy boy as I bow to her maternal needs <br />She has always loved to kiss the top of my head for some reason <br />And with each kiss there is always that affectionate little laugh she applies <br />She knows I don’t like it but <br />I have never resisted because I knew nothing lasts forever <br />I feel her need to be loved unconditionally by me as she becomes the child <br />I once was and will be again when my time has come <br />I kiss her cheek and let go of her frail hand <br />Promising to call more often as I leave her sitting there in her favorite chair <br />I promise to never forget her for all she has meant to me and our family <br />I promise a lot of things for I am saddened by the ticking of the clock <br />And the shortness of the approaching hour <br />She knows in her heart it is time to leave<br /><br />Ted Sheridan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/speechless-promises-delivered-and-wept/
