|
Byer writes poem for Family Caregiver Month
 Cullowhee’s Kay Byer, North Carolina’s poet laureate, knows the rewards and challenges of caring for a family member. For many years, as she and her husband helped her father-in-law care for her mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s disease, they knew the pain of making difficult decisions such as how much longer can the family realistically provide care without affecting their own health; when is it time to make the move into a care facility; and finally what heroic measures if any, should be taken to keep her alive.
Byer is now a long-distance caregiver, who is supporting her own parents through her father’s decline in health. Watching a strong man, who was formerly an active farmer become ill and disabled, is difficult, Byer said. She is also concerned about the effect that providing care is having on her mother.
Byer was appointed by Gov. Easley in February as Poet Laureate of North Carolina and will serve for at least two years as an ambassador of North Carolina literature.
To commemorate Family Caregiver Month, proclaimed by Governor Easley for November, Byer wrote a poem that captures the spirit of a friend.
“Willa Mae Pressley lived in Cullowhee, was a quilter of note and a dear friend of mine,” Byer said. “Her mother, Delphia Potts, taught her to quilt when she was a child, and she carried that tradition into the present-day, until she was disabled by a stroke and no longer able to hold a needle. Her spirit lives on in her handiwork.
Byer’s poem follows:
Hands All Around was Willa Mae’s favorite quilt pattern/mine too, because I loved each one she quilted, the way it showed what we must do for each other –/creating the stitchery that love binds, our hands/reaching out to make something to shelter within,/take our comfort inside when the days and nights seem much too long,/much too difficult to be understood without/making some beautiful thing from our losses and/gifts, our despair and our strength,/all of them gathered up into a pattern/of simple connection, a patchwork/of day by day living our lives,/piecing moment by moment together,/a comfort to pull up around us/when we feel the wind on our faces,/see night falling outside. We shelter inside/what our hands make, remembering what keeps us warm/during dark times, what helps us keep holding on,/reaching out, each to the other, for dear life.
To read more about Byer, visit online at www.ncarts.org/arts_laureate.cfm
Family Caregiver Month comes in November and helps raise awareness in communities about caregivers’ needs and resources and reminds caregivers to take care of themselves. The National Family Caregivers Association encourages family caregivers to take three steps every day to make their lives easier, improve care and raise awareness about their continued love and commitment. The three steps include: Believe in yourself; protect your health; and reach out for help.
Find out more about Family Caregiver Month at the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services Web site, www.dhhs.state.nc.us/aging/fcaregr/fchome.htm.
|
