He lies upon a narrow cot,
a cuff wrapped around his upper arm,
a needle slipped into his vein.
Methodically he pumps his hand.
Precious life source
trickles through a plastic tube
into a sterile clear bag.
A snack and drink
his only recompense.
My Mother lies in a hospital bed.
A bag of blood hangs from a pole,
flows through a plastic tube.
An IV needle in her vein, taped to her hand
delivers precious source of life
to her blood stream.
It gives her strength to visit with us,
to laugh, remember, pray…
Those pints of blood so vital,
gave us time to say good bye.
My husband - a Red Cross donor;
I no longer wonder why.
Author notes
First poem written for Ap, for the monthly New Members' Contest.
My husband has o negative blood, and donates blood 6 times a year.
He and others like him are heroes in my book.
In a list
A contest entry
- March New Member's Contest by AP Greeters.
600 points, ended April 6, 2007, 51 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - MOST IMPROVED POET! ANYTHING~ EVERYTHING by Florida Sunshine.
525 points, ended July 5, 2007, 74 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Heroes ~ Memorial Day Contest by Florida Sunshine.
300 points, ended May 27, 2008, 13 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Super Heroes & Arch Villains by Mercury Rising.
600 points, ended June 5, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 14 of 14
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Outstanding write here
not helping memories I have
involving the same
well done
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Perhaps I should have specified comic book super heroes, because that's what I had in mind, but I didn't, so this entry is acceptable, and was really a touching and well-constructed tribute to your hero. Best of luck in my contest, and thanks for entering.
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Heroes come in many forms - touching memory.
The last stanza is the creme` of the creme` with:
"That pint of blood so vital,
Which gave us time to say good bye.
My husband - a Red Cross donor;
I no longer wonder why."
I got chills up my arm!
Thanks for entering and giving your salute our Memorial Day Heroes!
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Thanks!
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Very nice write for your first~ and won the new member contest to boot~ nice write ~ I can't wait to see your next piece.
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Thank you for the Bronze trophy. There were so many fine entries. I'm humbled to have won the bronze.
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Such an intensly sad, but powerful write. You draw a very clear picture of the importance of a blood donor. If I am understanding correctly even though it is late and my head is a bit foggy
, the mother in the poem did not live, but still the blood donation gave those precious moments that we all risk missing when a loved on is in danger of passing.
Thank you for entering and best of luck in the contest. -
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Thanks for your comment. Yes, that is true. We did not have a diagnosis for my mother until about a week before she died. She had gotten several transfusions in the hospital during the month she was in there. When she was finally diagnosed with lymphoma, it was agressive and had spread to her bone marrow. The blood transfusions kept her alive. She chose not to have chemo of any sort, which would have given her about 2 months in a nursinghome at best. She wanted to go home to God, and made that clear to us. We got here into Hospice, and she died the next day - 5 days after her final blood transfusion. See "Held in His Arms", a song about my Mom.
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This poem made me smile because it is truly beautiful. Nice use of details and it seemed very personal to you. Thanks for entering it into our contest and I hope you are enjoying your stay on the site
--Tim -
Thanks for entering
The gift of life is such an easy one to share and you gave put this into words in such a comforting way. A lovely write for all the heros out there
Let the ink flow and your fingers dance
Rosemary -
Thank you for entering.
The Red Cross covers a wide field of hope and help to others in need, what would we do without that genuine, caring attitude in a world where sometimes it can seem no one cares.
A nice tribute well done
~Katie~
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Thanks for the entry and welcome to the site!
This is a great poem, from the donor to the receiver. Yes even the blood drives are mainly Red Cross, they are a wonderful group. I am very sorry for the loss of your mother but am glad for that extra time you received. Thank you very much for the entry, best wishes and welcome to the siteDove
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Welcome to All Poetry!
Wonderfully said indeed! Hats off to you with this write. Yes the Red Cross needs all the donors they can get.Your write has goven me food for thought!
Thank you for entering our contest.
Gaylene
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Many thanks for your comments
The blood my mother received did buy us time to adjust to her diagnosis and say goodbye. Blood saves lives, but also helps in ways that help families cope better with loss. Time is everything when a loved one is dying.
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