A visit from the healing muse: 'Excavating Grief'
Deirdre Neilen, PhD shares a selection from Upstate's literary journal, 'The Healing Muse' every Sunday on HealthLink on Air. She edits the annual publication featuring fiction, poetry, essays and visual art focused on themes of medicine, illness, disability and healing.
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Excavating Grief, by Pamela Mitchell
Bruce
Eric
Bill
Peter
Rick
David
John
Justin
one long road
stopping here and here and here
pulling into driveways
little pockets of dementia
and Kaposi‘s
and cyto megolo virus
blind
where no one knew
except nurses
shoving Subarus into
four-wheel drive
plowing driveways
with prayer
flipping open hatchbacks
revealing baskets
tools—
gauze absorbing dreaded
body fluids
tape of paper silk plastic
securing gauze laying flat
or stretched round skinney
limbs torso head
we brought our children
and I know why
we said daycare problems
we knew babies‘ laughter warmed
your hearts
Bruce
Eric
Peter
Rick
Bill
David
John
Justin
we knew you mothers
would not come
we came
dressed your wounds
listened to stories
held you
rocked you
while our babies
toddled ‘round
chasing your puppy
we knew you
loved our babies
Truth be known
we brought them
as angels we held
with one hand
while, you, angel
slipped
right out of the other