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).
(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.)
(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.)
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.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of the "dimpled scar" resembling a "blinded eye".
ReplyDeleteOh 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteYes it was – but to a child it seemed kinda creepy.
DeleteVivid writing to the memory!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness this is so very vivid and poignant!
ReplyDeleteThe healed scar and wound together... red and white. There's so much going on here.
ReplyDeleteSomeone 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.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine carrying such a big wound and scar ~ To the child this may look terrifying indeed ~
ReplyDeleteWell it's strange – we also kind of got used to it.
DeletePuts the blessing of a scar in perspective as preferable to an ever-open wound.
ReplyDeleteAnd still it lives on... in the raders of this poem
ReplyDeletedimpled scar
ReplyDeletegouged
like a blinded eye...wow..that is so vivid. wonderfully written.
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.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad was incredibly patient about the whole thing.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard. He lived with constant pain.
DeleteThis is a lot for a small child to take in and your memory is so vivid in this poem.
ReplyDeleteHarrowing 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...)
ReplyDelete