Mom is Dying––Accepted to San Diego Poetry Annual 2015
I know what I am doing
Not not doing
Grabbing cottony hunks of electrons
Stuffing them in my ears, my eyes
Mom is dying
I was going to meditate
But I didn’t
I was going to do yoga
But I didn’t
I turned on the computer
Holding the mouse, my hand aches
Mom is dying
The opiate of FaceBook
Doesn’t really erase the pain
Maybe hides it for a moment
Substitutes one pain for another
Rattles words in my head
Doesn’t rattle loud enough
To hide my thoughts
Mom is dying
Pretty clouds, cartoons
Rants about healthcare
The planet, selfishness
A TED talk
Black Friday specials
One more “like”
Mom is dying
The computer
Draws energy
Through my fingers
From my back, my heart
My gut, my brain
Mom is dying
Not gardening
Not cleaning
Not aware of time
Too aware of time
Mom is dying
(c) Barbara Huntington
The Poetry and Prose of Barbara Huntington 
TY Barb
Mom died on December 26, 2012 so this poem has taken awhile to become part of the electronic universe.
Hoping doing this will allow me to follow.
Just beautiful, my friend…I could really relate to this, and the way the undeniable, the thing-that-won’t go away, can insist that we pay attention to it, showing how irrelevant and superficial our lives and activities can sometimes be. ♡ ♡ ♡
Thanks, Steven! I hope you will follow my blog. I usually only post after something is published. I read that poem at the Pt. Loma library last night in the first reading for this year’s San Diego Poetry Annual.
My mother died in 2016, and the feelings you express in this poem are similar to feeling that I had before and after mom died. Such an overwhelming experience!
I am sorry for your loss, Helen. It is so tough!
Sending hugs