Hurry Mama Hurry
Take my hand, let’s go,
I’ve got you don’t worry,
Yes, ma’am, I know,
Hurry mama hurry,
There’s no time to be slow,
Yes Mama, I remember that too,
Please keep walking, there is so much to do.
The stories come every day, Sometimes just a sentence,
A word, a photo or an item may
Tingle the memories to surface,
Off down memory lane she goes,
Taking strangers or people she knows.
Time crawls at the space of a snail,
As she avidly describes a long-lost tale.
Time is irrelevant, her grasp of it obscure,
She asks to go visit a friend,
I tell her next week we will do it for sure,
Each day she asks when?
Is it today?
She says I don’t remember how long it has been.
I gently smile and say it is ok,
‘I don’t mind’ I say yet again.
As I listen for the upteenth time to something she’s spoken,
The words seem to fade as time stands still,
Suddenly I see in intricate detail,
While her retention of short term memory may be broken,
Distant memories shared are coming alive in her mind until
Her eyes are dancing, her face is a glow and she is happy.
She is living in the moment of a memory that mattered.
Other times it as if she is experiencing something for the first time,
While I know that we just had Kentucky Fried Chicken last week,
Today she exclaims ‘Yum!! I can’t remember the last time I had this!’
There’s no reason to contradict her, what does is matter?
Whether she’s been there weekly, or not for a long time.
The smile goes from cheek to cheek,
As she is enjoying every bite, her face a picture of pure bliss.
I gently smile and listen to her chatter.
It begins to dawn on me that maybe it’s our outlook that is flawed,
Maybe living more in the moment at times,
Fully experiencing every little nuance, instead
Of rushing through everything til the end and we are dead.
Immersing ourselves with delight into lives,
Maybe then our look of stress would change to one of awe.
Perhaps taking the moment to visit a pleasant time in the past,
Would create in us a childlike joy,
A fleeting glimpse of yesterday,
Stop rushing through life so very fast,
Take the time to remember when we were a girl or boy,
And work harder to make more memories that last.
Slow down, Daughter, Slow down,
Take my hand, let’s go,
I’ve got you don’t worry,
Yes, dear, I know,
Slow down, Daughter, slow down,
There’s no time to waste,
You want to remember that too,
Please keep looking there is so much to see and to do.
Stay in this moment, a minute longer, time flies too quickly and it will be over.
Beautiful!