Second Innings — a contribution in verse

When you feel you are alone in the crowd, When you think no one can understand you, When your love is rejected by others, & when you hate your Life, Just close your eyes, & see, his/her face who loves you more than any one else, who care for you in loneliness, & dies when you cry. He/She is the only one, your sweet loving Father/mother. Love you mom/Dad first and always.

Both the poems are very much heart touching, I can't explain my views in detail, but in short I want to share that this is the real story of our elders nowadays, which we are watching in our day to day life and the things are going more worst. This is a good step if even one person will think of his/her parents after reading this, I think the success starts of the that kin and ourselves who has started his thought to share.

Very very aptly said. Both the poems touched my heart.

Both the poems very well written. Both touched my heart.

Nice!

Dear Manoj, How true! Your feelings truly resonate with mine. Look what I wrote on the subject, in verse also. Let us people awake and deal with old people more sensibly.Thanks, Anil Chawla. OUR ELDERLY: WHO CARES? Everyone likes the rising Sun, the bright Sunshine of dawn, For we all love, energy, activity, strength and brawn. But alas! Every dawn ends up in dusk - The power, energy, action wane yet there’s great glow at dusk! When you are born it's your rise, it's your dawn, You are the magic, and a wonder, for your loving dad & mom. You can't feed nor bathe yourself, you can't walk or converse You can only piss and cry, yet you are the centre of their Universe! They feed, clean, dress and protect you, be it day or night, Not for days or months but from infancy till you are bright. They lead and guide you step by step, until you are safe on your own, Theirs, my dears, is a labour of love; it's not for a later gain. Time never stops, and the years fly by, we like it or not; Age catches up with them, their systems begin to rust and rot. Teeth fall and hands shake, knees pain and their legs are frail, Walking and feeding are hard; and God forbid if memory fails! Immobility, Instability, Incontinence and Intellectual failure,* Are the dreaded four ‘I's, that all elderly fear. When they are helpless and dependent in their twilight years, Your carers then need caring for! Their call for help and tender loving care often falls on deaf ears, Doesn't go far! Those who helped you walk and talk, call you now, But for you survival is hard; you have no time to spare for their care now! No income, no resource, they aren't useful any more, Wisdom may be there, but who listens? Who cares? A burden, a nuisance, a headache, a sore, These old ones, you can't take on, no longer, no more. You wish, you hope, if someone else could care, And do the job which, you know, is truly yours, To look after your old ones in their disabled years - 'The elderly should belong to the Community', you’re sure. Geriatric Hospitals and Elderly Homes are a blessing & a boon, For those elderly who can't find love or care at home in their afternoon. But the stay at these places is against their wishes, The trauma of neglect and rejection weighs heavy on their souls! Neglect is the malady, the elderly suffer from, Not by strangers, but by their near, dear & loved ones! Those loved ones for whom they shed their sweat and tears, Are busy with their own cares; won’t shed for them any tears. Loneliness, Cruel loneliness; nurses can't cure loneliness, No Kith or Kin, and no grandchildren to see or to talk, No smiles, no cheers, no respect; no hustle or bustle, All hope is lost, melancholy takes a firm grasp. Blessed are the elderly, who, in their dusk years, Are cared for by their loved ones, living with their dears, So they feel wanted, loved, respected; content and pleased, Till one day, the Sun sets finally, and sets their souls free! REFERENCES 1. Cayley ACD. The Four 'I's. In: Cayley ACD, ed. Hospital Geriatric Medicine. London: Edward Arnold, 1987:24-33.