I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

6 December 2016

All His Life

From ten years old
twice daily
my Dad's injured shin,
open to the bone,
was dressed in red 
mercurochrome
and re-bandaged.

Above this gaudy wound –
more horrifying  
to child me –
on his smooth, pale knee
a dimpled scar
gouged  
(like a blinded eye).



For quadrille #22 at dVerse we are asked to include the word 'scar'. It brought back a vivid memory.

(Dad's legs were almost unnaturally smooth and pale, as he always wore long trousers to conceal the large bandage. Years of attempted skin grafts never took. The deep scar on the knee was from the same 10-year-old accident.)


20 comments:

  1. WOW. This paints such a vivid picture, Rosemary. And I love the way you've spilled your memory, looking back, that the scar was worse than the wound.

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  2. I liked the idea of the "dimpled scar" resembling a "blinded eye".

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  3. Oh my goodness, I cant imagine him going through that for his entire lifetime. And still he worked and gardened and was of good cheer. Wow.

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  4. I do love this, I cannot imagine a lifetime going through a wound like that... the scar seemed such a small thing compared to the wound to me.

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    1. Yes it was – but to a child it seemed kinda creepy.

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  5. My goodness this is so very vivid and poignant!

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  6. The healed scar and wound together... red and white. There's so much going on here.

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  7. Someone already said my reaction, "WOW!" This is indeed words painting a vivid reaction. Red mercurochrome -- I remember it well. But here.....combined with the reset of the words -- they pierce me and create a real image that makes me cringe at the reality of it. Some injuries are like that -- stark and raw.

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  8. I can't imagine carrying such a big wound and scar ~ To the child this may look terrifying indeed ~

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    1. Well it's strange – we also kind of got used to it.

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  9. Puts the blessing of a scar in perspective as preferable to an ever-open wound.

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  10. And still it lives on... in the raders of this poem

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  11. dimpled scar
    gouged
    like a blinded eye...wow..that is so vivid. wonderfully written.

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  12. Reminded me so much of husband's leg surgery for sepsis 20 months ago: he had open wound and wound vac on his calf, and scar on his knee also. When wound was had healed where wound vac was no longer needed the doctors used alginate (seaweed dressing) to draw fluids out. Bless your dad for all he went through with his leg. The one thing I've learned is that medicine is not an exact science, and not all things are easily cured. You honor him with your story.

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    1. My Dad was incredibly patient about the whole thing.

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  13. I can understand why this stayed with you. I think he carried a wound with hopes it would heal and it was a hard journey for him I am sure.

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  14. This is a lot for a small child to take in and your memory is so vivid in this poem.

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  15. Harrowing memory for a child. Wish I could have helped care for it--one area of nursing I was really good at. Of course, I don't know the underlying conditions and that was back before we have what we have now. (Old nurses never die...)

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