adventures of an overheated elderly home

Joshua draws arrows on his wall
pointing to a single switch
he is afraid to forget its location
misplacing his woollen hat and coat

Ann doesn't need her diapers these weeks
who pees anyway
Ann and I drink like in days past no fear of leaks

Judith became a statistic last night
forgot to activate the AC
the odour fills our hallway
grieved grandchildren in shorts and flip flops

Pete withdrew to the communal area
big fans watching baseball games
Cardinals vs Mets 25 innings
like yesterday

limited attention to our wing of 5
we are supposed to be independent still
the local salesman visits us to sell AC's we bought yesterday
telling us this heatwave will last forever
Notes

In recent decades, several heatwaves in Europe resulted in distinct “excess mortality” above average. In July 2019, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) published a “Heatwave guide for Cities” to enable urgent action on this topic. This poem pays attention to a silent killer among elderly: heatwaves in summer and how elderly living in retirement homes would experience these events.



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