Till Then

 Prompt #70

My brother-in-law, Doug Rice, is in hospice as I write this.

 

You lost your mother as a teenager

leading you to drugs, theft, and jail time.

Your father remarried and far away, 

not a man given to much emotion or connection.

Your girlfriends could be friendly or remote

you seemed to alternate personalities

and then one, with the same name as your mom,

made you crazier than most...

So you married her.

But this kind of relationship can't last.

One beautiful boy child born, and

then you were on your own, once again.

The shutdown began.

Your emotions, your life.

Still with a wicked sense of humor,

and a deep love of family that never

could quite get it right.

A father's love you could not grasp.

A mother gap from long ago.

A breach in the family broke your heart.

You tried so hard to mend it,

even at cost to yourself.

But the only thing that reunited

was your failing liver and

semi-conscious state.

Our last visit was pleasant, yet difficult.

A final meal together at Dixie Crossroads

where you shared your shrimp with me.

Seeing what you were going through,

your attitude of acceptance and surrender

to the workings of the Universe gave comfort

to us, since there was nothing we could do...

The council of elders awaits you, Doug.

 

Mom and Dad Ward

Aunt Joanne

Uncle Dick

Uncle Jim

Aunt Dot

Debbie

Tommy

Mike

DR

 

and your mom.

 

Safe passage, dear brother

Til we meet again.