My eldest son Mark,
unfairly stricken with Parkinson's,
has had to concede his working
days are over.
...
It birthed several summers ago
as the undergrowth grew into a
carpet of flammable fuel, waiting
impatiently to explode.
...
'Grab a hammer, ' the red-necked dairy farmer said.
'What for I asked, it's just six in the morning? '
'You'll see, ' red-neck said. 'They calved last night.'
'They? ' I asked.
...
Excruciating...
The body tenses,
the heart momentarily stops.
And when your eyes refocus
...
Handcuffed, manacled and blindfolded
he stood before a firing squad,
awaiting the prescribed military execution.
A colour sergeant, inappropriately named asked:
...
I have nothing more to say.
It would be repetitious and
boring if I did.
...
When I'm tired I hobble.
Symptomatic of the stroke.
To remind me a few weeks
ago, I couldn't walk at all.
...
It's been several weeks since I limped
through the front door, joyous at the thought
of being at home.
Beside beloved Alison, who'd sat at my bed-
...