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God's waiting room. That's what these places are called; nursing homes; residential homes; care homes, places where old folk go to die but its not all gloom and death. Sometimes, the spark of life glows brighter when death is lurking....

Gummy smiles mask a long gone
youth,
where dreams and ambition raged
like dragons
and hope shone in colourful
bright eyes
Now, memories hold those vivid
dreams
and photos show their unlined
youth
but their smiles still lie beneath,
sometimes hidden
as age brings its cruel relentless
afflictions
killing all dignity as bodily functions
cease
and the mind crumbles and stutters,
a broken radio
Visitors are few as relatives sometimes
forget
out of sight, out of mind, push the guilt
to one side
Death is always near, teasingly close, reaching,
touching
Some want to go with death, too tired to
fight anymore
but others refuse to go, the spark of life
strong, vibrant
their smiles and laughter a testamony to
their spirit
They eat and sing and drink and play,
and smoke. Why not
They crack dirty jokes and live life
to the full
They laugh in  the face of old age and
spit in the putrid face of death
God's waiting room is a place that's
always full of patients
steadily moving up the queue
passing over into another room
and one day, not too far away
we'll be there.....