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Sandra Duverneuil

Threads of Connection: Teresa Gauthier, Third Place (Tie)

Updated: Oct 19

So Long


When he was called, he was ready.

He had been waiting so long.

His navy slacks, black belt

Button-down shirt and blazer,

Resplendent with his retirement pin were

Hanging in his bedroom closet.

When the moment came though, he felt

Rushed and there was no time

To change from the pullover and slip on

Pants, that barely hid the tube forever

Draining coffee, juice and ensure.

He seemed to be sitting on the edge of his

Bed when the bell rang.

He tried to stand and he found

His legs had weakened from being

Left in that wheeled chair for so long.

He looked through the window to a garden

That he did not recognize and he tried to

Remember what this place was and

How he had gotten here.

Platitudes about time and safety

Flashed like an overused commercial

Before his eyes.

“Enough”, he said.

“She has been waiting too long”.

He smoothed his collar and stood,

Saying with a smile,

“So long”.


 

Teresa Gauthier is a recently retired nurse. She is exploring her passion for poetry. She was thrilled to have her poem, "Hummingbird," selected for the 2024 Kitsap County Ars Poetica. This poem, along with "Seal Pup," was published in the Spring/Summer 2024 edition of The Islander, the Literary and Arts journal of Anderson Island, Washington.



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