Poem Note to Self

Composite picture showing Felipe with a cane on a pier and resting on a pyramid, Felipe wearing a school uniform as a child, Felipe in the hospital both as a child and an adult
 








In the mirror I see you

With my hands I touch you

With my thoughts I condemn you

Through my words I defend you

 

Sometimes in vain

I struggle with pain

I ponder the embarrassments being worth the gain

And feel tears well and fall like the rain

 

I commend and condemn you, dear body of mine

My shackle, my chain, my temple, my shrine

I struggle and fight with the scars on my spine

While in them I search for a purpose divine

 

Nurses and doctors meet you with gazes

That shape, mold, and build my self-esteem mazes

The touch, the yanks, the handling, and grazes

Motions repeated throughout our life’s phases

 

And yet through the years we’ve been showered with blessing

As people around us you continue impressing

And despite my attempts to keep you oppressing

I know that I need you and that you need caressing

 

May I use you to walk with the shadows of others

Sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers

May I listen for hope in their words to discover

As I wrestle to care for my difficult lover




Comments

  1. Steve RichardsonJanuary 12, 2023 at 12:17 PM

    So beautiful! This is what making peace looks like.

    ReplyDelete

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