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