What life has become

His frail tired body lay on the care home bed peacefully. He smiled to himself.1

Once, he had been so strong, fighting in Vietnam and escaping death. He valued the preciousness of life highly. Thoughts of his beloved children safe at home with their mother gave him the strength to face each new day.2

Now peace is disturbed again as the young care workers come in. They spit in his face and call him obscenities. His stroke has silenced his words. Aggressively they grab at his arms and dump him on the toilet-seat. They stand there laughing.3

Alone again he weeps in weakness and prays to God to take him soon.

In a list

A contest entry

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Comments


  • tonialoise
    February 3

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    wow, that's so sad. To think that home care workers would treat anyone so, especially vets, is really a sign that our society is declining. Nice piece with a lot of emotions.


  • Thorn-on-the-Rose
    September 23, 2008

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    so deep and sad! I loved it, it made me angry at those young workers, no one deserves that! Great job, and congrats on the shiny trophy. =D

    -Dani


  • tallblondie gold member
    August 23, 2008

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    Powerful and deeply moving. The stark contrast between who your character was, and the state of his current being made this provocative. The fact that other people treated him with such disrespect made this piece highly emotive - in particular anger and abhorence at the actions of these youth - sadly, all too typical of today's society.

    Thank you for your entry and good luck!


  • trekkergirl
    August 21, 2008

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    Very well written... I feel the pain and the embarassment of the vietnam vet. A person who should be given respect and shown decency too. I pray this is not happening in our homes... I haven't work in a nursing home in years but I pray that there are those out there who would speak up for our elderly and sick... they need or words as well as our hands and bodies. They need the respect they deserve.

    Good write and creative. Thanks for bringing up such a important issue as abuse of our elderly and sick.

    Thanks for joining my contest.