An Afternoon In The ER
by Stephen Nathan
A bounty of medical technology looms all around us
impotent as my mother
who looks up from the gurney through the swarm of doctors and nurses
all needles and tubes
scurrying about vainly trying to trick fate
as her tired heart longs for sleep
the shuddering inevitability of her
a cold businesslike fact as she lays there
eyes groping for answers
she seems so slight now
a little girl in her eighties
confused
begging for the breath no one could give her
It'll be okay I lied through my helplessness
wanting to rail at this quick finish
at all the words I'd kept hidden for later
always later
words that will disappear with her
Her hand
fingers like the spindly legs of an insect
crawls along the sheet searching for my hand
which I surrender for the first time since I was sentenced to adulthood.
Her hand bony now, weak and chilled,
but still with the touch that gave me breath.
I hold hers and she holds mine
the love breezing between our hands
sweeps through the past
as love can
my tiny hand in hers crossing the street
walking to school or through tears to the doctor to mend my broken arm
warm and safe
always safe these memories we squeeze tightly
past now present
me grey but still her tot.
I kiss our knotted hands,
the kiss the only truth I can utter
and breathless now
her hand slips from mine
the way it has to
Nathan has primarily written for film, television and theater winning, among other acknowledgements, the Humanitas Prize, Writers Guild Award, and two Emmy nominations. He has been writing poetry for years and has just decided to start sharing his work. He has recently been featured in Typishly, Cathexis Northwest Press and upcoming in Paragon Press and Cultural Weekly.
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