Don’t Fade Away

Yesterday’s pink
streaks of cloud
in the sky
were reminders
of the drifting
in your eyes,
the absence
of your spirit
that last visit,
the Christmas
before you died,
painful reminders
that I can’t abide
the inevitable
ebbing tide
of your sweet,
pink-lipsticked
smile.

Kim M. Russell, 30th November 2020  

 My response to dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille: The Dude Abides

Lisa is our host and she says that she ‘tried to think of a word for today’s quadrille prompt that would fit what each human on the planet is dealing with right now in some fashion in regards to the pandemic’ and what she has given us is ‘abide’, a verb with three distinct definitions.  The first: “accept or act in accordance with” rules, decisions or recommendations. The second is: “be unable to tolerate” someone or something.  The third is: “continue without fading or feeling lost” in regard to a feeling or memory. She says she could be wrong, ‘but it seems like each of us may be rotating through all three of the definitions over these past so many months’.

To illustrate these meanings and give us inspiration, Lisa has shared a poem by Jake Adam York, which has ‘Abide’ as its title, and ‘Monarchy’ by Emily Rosko, which has the word in the body of the poem, as well as an excerpt from the hymn ‘Abide With Me’.

Today’s challenge is to write a quadrille, a poem of 44 words (excluding the title), which must include the word ‘abide’.

77 thoughts on “Don’t Fade Away”

  1. This is incredibly poignant, Kim! I am especially moved by “the inevitable ebbing tide of your sweet pink lipsticked smile.” Sending love and hugs..

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    1. I can’t imagine what you must be going through, Bjorn. Did you and your sister get everything sorted out? I’m so glad that you have each other and can lean on each other at such a difficult time.

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  4. This is heart-wrenching, Kim: especially the contrast between the mother in the photo and the mother at the end of her life as you describe in your poem.
    ‘the inevitable
    ebbing tide
    of your sweet,
    pink-lipsticked
    smile.’
    Is so sad and poignant to picture. I am sorry for your loss.

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  5. Kim, I feel that ache and know the helplessness you must have felt. My mom is moving towards that place you describe and it hurts to know there isn’t much that can be done. The lockdown and being shut away from loved ones and activities she’s used to sure isn’t helping. Such a heartfelt poem.

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  8. My mother passed before she was 40. My mother-in-law made it to 90. In the great scheme of things, our higher self is aware of our “death day”.

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  10. This touched my heart, Kim. I well remember my mother’s eyes when I knew they no longer recognized me. It is difficult to get past those memories to the time they were bright, sparkling and laughing. Blessings, my friend.

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      1. It is hard, and I know my loss is tiny compared with some peoples, but it has been quite traumatic. I keep noticing she’s not there! I notice her absence more than I noticed her prescense, if that makes sense.

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  27. Lovely piece Kim – how powerful ‘abide’ is right in the middle of this – both a refusal of the painful memory and the memory abiding still – and that wonderful photo. (I’ve got one just like it which I can’t bear to look at for the heartache).

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    1. Thank you Peter. I have a handful of such photos and worry I might lose them, so I keep them safely in a box. I managed to scan a few, so they are on my computer and pop up every now and again at random. Each time I get a pang.

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