The Caregiver

[Wjames]

The Caregiver

A few weeks before
my father died
I remember cleaning
his shit from out the bathtub.
 
It wasn’t normal
that he got so confused This is my favourite line.
but he’d been flushing
garbage down the toilet
for weeks so I’d turned off
the water to avoid another midnight flood.
 
If I’m honest,
the tub afforded me
a little more sleep.

This was fun to read. I think the title of the poem might be better as "The Caretaker" to reflect the janitorial aspects of the care being given more.