A Poem for Charlene

“I’m never going to live in one of those!”
That’s what Fred would say
at the mention of the term nursing home.
Little did he dream that by coming
to a place called The Edgewood Centre
he would find not only a very caring home –
but he would find Charlene.

From the time he arrived,
and a beautiful young nursing assistant
named Charlene came to settle him in –
putting his clothes in drawers and closet,
saying reassuring things –
Fred was smitten.

It was her smile that captivated him first.
Fred was a pushover for a pretty girl.
Having eighty long years behind him
didn’t change that one bit.

But he was not always easy to please –
after all, this former professor and poet
was caught in a long downward spiral
since the car accident
and the road ahead looked grim –
but Charlene smiled on.

She would be there to get him up in the morning,
and always stopped by at the end of her shift
asking if she could do anything for him
before she went home.
Then with that sweet smile, she’d add,
“I’ll be here in the morning
to get you up and ready!”
Fred always knew her schedule –
she was his lifeline to the end.

Fred and Charlene – they were quite a pair.

Now someone new has moved
into room 207 – and hopefully,
a beautiful, smiling nursing assistant
has already appeared at their door saying,
“Good morning,
My name is Charlene.”

-by Joann Snow Duncanson