The poetic city: “A Suite For Miss Helen, From One Week To The Next 5/23/15”

Miss Helen doing her dance. (Photo by: Greg Shelton)

 

 

A Suite For Miss Helen: From One Week To The Next 5/23/15

Lately, when I arrive for my weekly visits

Helen no longer looks up at me

with the surprised delight

I have come to count on…

Nor does she seem to take great pleasure

in the jazz that she once loved so much.

Last week I had to work hard

for each glimmer of a smile

that lasted but a second

before the inevitable droop

back into the darkness

where she appears to reside

Leaving me to wonder

if my intrusions

disturb or brighten

the world she inhabits

as she endures the waiting

for she knows not what.

This week

I made up my mind

not to work for smiles

Instead of carrying on

with exaggerated gestures

to draw her into the music,

I sat with Helen in the garden,

quietly holding hands,

listening to her jazz,

and watching the birds come and go.

And, when I was finally successful

in convincing myself that

I didn’t have to do anything

to make the time special for her,

I became aware that the tickling sensation

in the palm of my hand was Helen

keeping time with the beat.

_____

© Reece Burka 2/1/2019

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