Blog | Pat Durmon, Poet

Computer Class

Racing across the parking lot at the public library, I look up and see broken clouds. I’ve seen them before, but today I really see them. I pause and take a photo. It feels like foreshadowing of what is to come. Lord, help me. On entering the library, I head for the computer room. I’m five minutes late. (I did not add extra minutes for the road crew and a long line of cars.) Everyone looks up as I enter. A room full of white-headed seniors like myself. The teacher continues her thought and says she’ll get me a computer. I signed up for two basic classes. The first class was helpful, so I’m back again. Everyone in class is busy, searching for their emails on public computers. Three of us forg

Goodness

She was probably in her seventies. Salt-and-pepper hair. Her cart was stalled, and she was looking at vases in an aisle in the Dollar Tree. I wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or to me. Her words: “I don’t know which one to buy.” I stopped pushing my cart. She had my full attention. The woman looked directly at me. “I don’t know which one to buy. I want to force tulips or hyacinths in a nice, glass vase for my daughter-in-law. Which one? What do you think?” She held up two sizes. I repeated her words so she’d know I heard her. “So you are forcing flowers for a daughter-in-law. I love forced flowers. I’d choose the bigger vase. But how will you hold the bulbs in place?” “I’m buying th

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

I’m sharing a poem today. It was written by Bob Hicok. I came across it days before my support group met. (I facilitate a support group for caregivers of loved ones with dementia.) Beautiful, resilient people in our group. Researchers have found that caregiving can be dangerous to your health, according to Pauline Boss PhD. That means caregiving becomes a public health issue. Okaaaay. That does not slow people in my group down. They tend their loved ones anyway. Just so we are on the same page: Dementia is a condition of the brain that leads to the loss of remembering, thinking, reasoning and judgment. Gradually, even the simple tasks of daily living like dressing, feeding, and toileting req

A Tribute to Billy Graham

A beautiful day. A flock of robins in the yard, daffodils opening, the maple budding. Everything, mutely speaking of new birth. Changes, in every direction I look. We are on the cusp from winter to spring. I think of Billy Graham, long admired by many of us. He recently died. The funeral is today (March 2, 2018). He is now in the presence of the Lord. What a change for him. A new birth for him. What was it about this man that made him extra special? I look toward the river and see a blue heron looking down, flying further on. Billy Graham was a sought-after evangelist and led great revivals in America in the 50’s and 60’s, spreading the Word of God any way he could. When I was 13, I gave my

The Heart of the Educational System

It's a Sure Sign

Heroes

Computer Class

Goodness

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

A Tribute to Billy Graham