Life Under Care

I wake up early

Before the Sun 

Lay quiet in bed

But my day has begun

I take my meds

Three times a day 

One hour before meals 

Just like the pamphlets say

I watch the news

Of escalating crime

Or play some cards

To pass the time

Then after lunch 

It’s time for a snooze 

So many activities 

It’s hard to choose

A little shuffle board

Perhaps my children call

Every Thursday afternoon 

We take a trip to the mall

Life   

In a nursing home

So many here 

I’m not alone

We’re

Out of the way

So many of us 

Just waiting for that day

Back in time 

To take my meds

Have the evening meal

Then shuffle off to bed

I wake up

For my midnight pee

Wander back to bed 

To catch some zzzz’s

I lay quiet 

And hope to fall asleep

And know tomorrow 

All this will repeat 

Life

In a nursing home

So many here 

I’m not alone

We’re

Out of the way

So many of us 

Just waiting for that day

Life

Everyday is the same 

It’s really just 

a waiting game

Waiting

At the end of our lives

counting down the hours 

of how long we survive

Life In a Nursing Home

Nursing homes, retirement centers, or whatever they are called, are places where our elderly are stored away until they pass. In some ways, it’s nice that they can be among friends. In other ways, I’m sure it’s quite depressing as your friends die off around you. Who’s next? The time waiting and falling into a daily routine of recycled boredom probably also takes its toll.

Families used to take care of their parents in their homes. But with everyone having to be employed to make ends meet, there’s no time or energy left to do this.

This is a depressing song about waiting out those last days. “They do take such good care of us.”