Everest Cracks In Half And Slides

A spiritual successor to

Even Rocks Break and Mountains Fall

I’ve been forced to watch the slow and sometimes fast decline

Of possibly the greatest man I’ve ever known

My father Jimmy Francis

I’ve had the honor and the horror of being with him in his final days

As Everest cracks and the rock starts to slip

I’ve watched a man who used to stand tall even though only 5’11

Start to bend and stoop as the full force of cancer wreaks its havoc

As the tumors spread and grow

As the fluid starts building up in his body and not leaving

His heart rate is sky rocketing

And not coming down

Will these be his last days

Will he live to see another year

I spend as much time with him as I can

Trying my best to appreciate and stow away these memories and moments

While he’s still here

Trying to store up treasures for the future that is fast approaching

As my family draws close around me as we give the doctors the DNR papers

It’s hard to find precious moments when the attention wanes and confusion sets in

He has sometimes long lucid moments sometimes short

But they never seem to be enough

Will he come out of this hospital stay alive

Will he come home

Or will he have to go to rehab

How diminished will he be when, if he exits the hospital this time

He didn’t want to go

He doesn’t want to stay but understands or at least seems to

The reasons why

This is my lamentation

As the mountain cracks and starts to slide

I’m stuck trying to grab these fleeting moments of joy and love

These memories of time spent with him as the slide accelerates

At a speed unknown

To a destination known

His slow and gradual or accelerating descent towards death

Still he speaks with love and understanding his faith bent but not broken

This Everest of a man still stands tall in spirit

Even as his body diminishes and swells

His spirit stands tall

His character exceeding my own

I am still in awe of him

Of the man that he has changed into being

Where once he was short tempered and harsh

Dismissive and confrontational

He changed those into patience and love

Acceptance and gentle kindness

Now I watch his slow, and yet rapid decline

Towards his death

I stand on the brink of despair

I should be surrounded by it on all sides

But I have not succumbed

I stand tall bent but unbroken drawing on the strength of my fathers spirit

I strive to be the rock my family can rely on as the end draws nearer

As Everest cracks and falls

I do my best to stand tall not proud but humble while my world starts to crumble at the edges

As rocks break and mountains fall

I strive to not break and so far have succeeded

Even in the midst of the earthquakes

I’ll stand stalwart.