For fifty years mother’s face reflected
a marriage she endured,
a man she didn’t love.
But when he was blind and frail
in hospice,
she visited him often,
and when he reached out, groping
for her hand,
she would smile and move it
(again and again)
just out of reach.
– Sarah Russell
For Poets United Poetry Pantry
and Real Toads prompt “power“
Drawing by Greuze
Sarah Russell Poetry 
This is brutal. Just outstanding.
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Thanks, Kelli. Like I said about your poem, I think we were on the same vibe today.
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Such brutal honesty .. such incredible power in this! Beautifully done.
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Thank you, Sanaa.
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Oh so sad. Whole lives spent, lonely and unfulfilled. Exceptionally good writing.
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Thanks, Sherry. That was a generation of endurance, not fulfillment I think. Revenge came out in passive ways.
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So sad and yet… {maybe our culture prevents us from seeing something)
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That may be true. Hard to know what goes on in others’ lives.
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This reminds me of my parents’ marriage. But when he died she was lost; she succumbed to dementia and her life was over.
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I understand, Kim. Sometimes the friction is a form of love itself. It may be the basis of real passion that can’t be expressed in more positive ways.
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Agreed with Kelli — finely and then brutally sketched. And the title is perfect — my reading is that those final moments of reaching and pulling away requites the essence of a loveless marriage. Great stuff.
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Thanks so much, Brendan. Fought for the right title. Glad you think I got it right.
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Goodness gracious! That’s why we should never do (or be forced to do) things we don’t want. The damage such situations bring to people’s lives tears apart everything and everyone it touches.
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Agreed, Magaly. Thanks for reading.
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Whoa, a very powerful poem, thanks. K.
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Thanks so much, Karin.
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Oh my this is just so sad to have been in a loveless marriage…the ending broke my heart for them both as I know my grandparents had a similar relationship and I never knew until one died.
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I think a lot of marriages were like that before it became OK to divorce. Tragic, I think.
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A beautiful poem, but oh so tragic.
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Thanks, John.
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Stunningly raw and honest. Beautifully written.
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Thank you, Bev.
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A powerful, powerful piece. It, literally, gave me shivers … perhaps, because I have seen this so many times, over the course of my life – several times in relationships close to me. Brilliant writing, Sarah!
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Thanks so much, Wendy.
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Oh, that was a punch in the gut! Wickedly brilliant.
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Thanks, Rosemary.
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A very sad story….”just out of reach.” I think where there was no love, when one becomes frail and old, I have seen people change in their feelings for one another. So much “back story,” here. So many words unspoken.
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You’re right, Annell. I’ve seen that too, especially when one was domineering and then vulnerable and the tables turn. Revenge…
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You have drawn a detailed Durer-like sketch of a relationship here, intricate and complex as the hidden musculature of emotion that moves it–very concise, clean and effective writing.
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Thanks so much, Joy. High praise!
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A complex poem that describes the situation perfectly. The ending is indeed ‘brutal’ as someone mentioned; but understandable. At last she can say ‘no,’ just ‘no.’
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Yes, Mary, I think that’s exactly what she can do. Nice interpretation.
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Wow….so raw. I can imagine how many times this happens in life. Love the power in this poem.
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Thanks, Vivian.
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Oh when power is given to the powerless… there is no end to the consequences. The last line was a punch in the stomach.
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Thanks, Bjorn. Yes, when the passive become passive aggressive, it ain’t pretty.
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