OUR NEW NORMAL

He can not
He can not say that he can not
I do not believe that he can not
Because he could do anything
But now he can not

He used to swim 100 laps a day
But now he can not
I used to watch his beautiful body
Slice water like a dolphin
Now I can not

He used to hit home runs just because I asked
But now he can not
He gets angry that he can not
But cannot say that he can not
I get angry that he can not

He tries when he is alone
To get up
To stand
To walk
But he can not

He won’t try when he is with me
Because he can not
He tries – but he can not
Why him
Who could do anything

They said this day would come
It has come
With a vengeance
We both want to make it not so
But we can not

So we have begun building Our New Normal
Not because we must
But Because we can
Always we can
We can do anything

Antoinette Ford
August 24, 2018
Revised March 9, 2019