navwin » Main Forums » Open Poetry #50 » Old Fingers
Open Poetry #50
Post A Reply Post New Topic Old Fingers Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

0 posted 2019-04-10 04:16 PM



Old Fingers

She wore her birthday suit
As well as could be, given the decades;
She remembered the time
Her love said she had “young hands…”

Hands that held babies and bottles,
Scrubbed floors and cooked meals
Later to help the husband with cows,
And calves, driving trucks, and mending
Fences.

And in her spare time, she worked in offices;
Always professional, always paperwork,
Always clicking or picking up or packing away
Or rummaging through files or boxes, and sometimes
Homes of the deceased…the next moment
Always depending upon the job.

In retirement, those same hands found
Avenues in oil paints and watercolors,
Some gardening and traveling,
And they talked, her hands, just as much,
Sometimes more, than her mouth.
Expressive.

One day, her hands were guided back to
Pick up the reins of a fellow woman,
To fill in for a short while, to sit upright,
Straight back, clicking fingertips, filing, writing,
answering phones
In that skilled manner…
Her “getting things done” mode.

Old fingers, not having forgotten how to be
Quick and nimble, no matter their age…
They fell back into place as easily as
Caring for a baby.

4-10-19 © KRJ


© Copyright 2019 Karilea Rilling Jungel - All Rights Reserved
BluesSerenade
Member Patricius
since 2001-10-23
Posts 10549
By the Seaside
1 posted 2019-04-13 08:22 PM


I like this Sunshine, I assume this is a personal experience?  Correct me if I’m wrong?  There is something very special in knowing and showing you’ve still got it.  As we age it’s so gratifying that we make a difference in this world, because we’ve always been so competent.  Seriously!!!  Made me smile.  

You go girl.

Gunslinger
Senior Member
since 1999-10-09
Posts 901
TX, USA
2 posted 2019-04-13 08:28 PM


Beautiful work. Very descriptive, very revealing. The same can be said for the hands of men (except they are rarely called beautiful or young). And, sad to say, they no longer do so well on a guitar or precision work. Well done.
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
3 posted 2019-04-15 02:28 PM


Yes, Bluesy...I relate to true experiences...after a few years of retirement, I was contacted to "fill in" and I was amazed that 45 plus years of experience was not forgotten over the last six years of "what'cha doing? / Nothing..."

Thanks, GS. Practice, anyway!

Thanks!!


Marchmadness
Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271
So. El Monte, California
4 posted 2019-04-15 09:42 PM


This is so you, Karilea.

Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Main Forums » Open Poetry #50 » Old Fingers

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary