My Santiago

The backstory - (The Jack Series)

So today, I wrote this poem for Jack, Who lives in a room opposite our friend, Leslie, at a care centre In Sandy Bay, Hobart.

Jack does not remember much, But at times, he drags his memory back to a time long ago, Though one is never sure if the stories are true.

Jack, according to Jack, has done everything,

Been everywhere, Climbed Everest, Crossed the Arctic and Antarctic, Run marathons And been to any country you can name; Or has he?

But does it matter?

It does not!

Jack is alone, No one comes to see him, But there is more to the story

than one knows, There always is!

Jack reads the poem I wrote for him, And you can see he is pleased; He shakes my hand, Asks me how I knew about him, Forgetting that he has told me this, Over and over.

He reads it anew, For the first time - again, As each reading is from now on, And each time he is pleased, Each new time, Thanking me, Shaking my hand.