Brian Purcell #26 At my mother’s retirement village

At my mother’s retirement village

I have my own thoughts

the swimming pool is so cold

how would an eighty-year old

feel when hitting that water?

Is it there for the children

staying over? And if

you stay over at your

mother’s retirement home

maybe you won’t be so picky?

You’re used to chilly public pools

swimming in the ocean or weed-

filled rivers. No beach-side hotel

with heated pool for you.

Who do you tell

when the water is too cold.

Is there anyone to tell?

Everything here is seamless

unimpeachable. The dishwasher

when operating

allows the cutlery drawer

to close with a millimeter's grace.

What happens on sweltering days

when the metal expands

who will mum go to?

Perhaps the management will think

other factors will come into play.

I was going to say

something now but forgot

like you I find it hard to handle 

so much detail in my daily life.

Meanwhile I’m in between

laps in the chilly pool 

when mum leans over

the child-proof fence

and remarks how the pool

in our best house

was so much bigger.

I look down and say

I don’t think so mum…

I was always a contrary child