The
Poetry of Harry Furness
Sad
Eyes For Don
He looked in to see how she was sleeping
And watched her fits and spasms
He was in a hospital gown with a mask covering his face
He knew she was not really asleep, but drugged into
Semi-unconsciousness
It was the only way to calm her down now
First they had to give her all of the drugs to
Attack her cells that were her cells attacking her
He couldn't remember anymore when he'd found out that
She was killing herself and she didn't even know it
No one did
It was that bruise that wouldn't go away that
Tipped the doctor off that her cells had turned on her
And now he was trying to get her cells back into her camp
So that her cells would act like they belonged there rather
Than acting like they were the enemy
He held her hand and tried to transfer
his strength
But he knew that she couldn't take it
He knew more than he should and it was slowly eating him away
too
But he knew that he would outlast her
He knew that the warm spot on the other side of the bed
Would never be warm again, it would remain cold
He knew that he would only kiss her one more time without
The mask he had to wear in here
He knew that her frail strength was not enough
He knew that when they'd come in that Saturday night
That there would be no more Sunday mornings
Lazing out on the deck with life darting all around them and
They would share the paper and coffee for an hour or so
He knew that those days were gone
Like a melody he wanted to keep her with
him
And knew now that it would only be her melody that would last
It would be all the silences between the notes that she played
And he would have to listen hard to make sure that he never lost
her sound
And that would not include the sound of these machines in here
But her unfettered smile when she turned into the sun
And would remark on something he had never heard before
That was the tune that he would carry
He pulled down his mask, he didn't want
his last kiss to be lifeless
He wanted his last kiss to be like his first,
Warm, with all of the hope that leads to a life a together
He kissed her cheek
Pulled up his mask
Walked out through the double chambered doors
And sat down to wait
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For
a Moment
For a moment I thought that I could move
my leg
Without pain
For a moment I thought that I could move my knee
Without pain
For a moment I thought that I could dig my foot into the sand
Without pain
For a moment I thought that I could walk
Without pain
For a moment I thought that I could move my arm
Without pain
For a moment I thought that I could pitch
The baseball
But that moment is gone and I know that I can do none of
Those things
But for a moment I was happy
And I wouldn't trade that for even a brief walk at the
Beach
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Why
the Drama
Why is there so much drama?
Who put in the call that everything must be seen as a defining
moment?
I grieve at the past inequalities
I can't believe the strange fruit hanging from the trees
But I know that it happened, I've heard the stories and I've
seen the pictures
And I don't wish to make light of six million
Or the generations gone - disappeared
In Europe, Africa, Cambodia, or China or under our feet
I have lost my voice for screaming for justice at rallies and
demonstrations
I weep over torn souls and souls that were never let to be torn
If we are using our "box"
Our place to speak and can only endlessly shout about what has
been
Then what are we doing to open our hearts to a lonely neighbor
Or office mate?
How do we reach them, but with a smile and a nod
When do we look eye to eye into someone else
And concentrate on their pain or joy
We need to take the wax out of our ears
So that the sirens don't reach us
And open ourselves to the other and listen to them
Not just nodding our heads
But connecting the dots between our hearts and our minds
copyright Harry Furness
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For more from Harry visit his
columns: January, December,
November, October;
and his poetry: January,
December, November,
and October. Or his
online home.
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