Poetry by Charlie Gould

ON SEEING

I watched a patient sit and wheel
Who had a secret smile;
As if she knew a way to heal,
That no one has on file!

She moved so slowly down the hall,
I thought she'd never make it;
But she sat smiling all the way,
And really didn't fake it!

I had to ask her what she did,
To be so cheerful, grounded;
And this is what she said to me,
As I stood by dumbfounded . . .

"I simply think of all the things,
I've done throughout my days;
And all the love I've had poured on,
In Oh!, so many ways!"

"I think about the summer wind,
The gentle falling rain;
The astonished laugh of a happy child,
And I just feel great again!"

"I may be broken in some spots,
And sickly in a few;
But it doesn't take away from all
The people I once knew!"

She rolled away, on down the hall,
With a knowing glance to me;
As I stood silent, thinking of
Her words, then thought, "I see!"

The blindness life can deal to us,
Sometimes does not mean eyes;
The memories in that woman's heart
Her body's state defies!

Can you see?

--Charlie Gould*

*"Works and plays well with others, and does not eat his young."