Your Parting Gift Received
Farewell today, my quiet friend,
And as I said, I hope these end –
These visits where we look at pics
They took of me, and ask if it’s –Metastases – those tiny specks
On lungs – ’bout tiny as it gets
(Once seen, of course, for just one cell
Displaced from site creates such hell).But no, it’s not metastases,
Those three small specks you medics see;
“I think they are benign”, you say;
I grin and shrug, glad for today.And as I rise say, “Lumpy though
This sounds, objectively, I know,
“I hope we never meet again”;
You laugh, look up, lean back, and then –You give the gift of word – you said:
“Offense not taken up, my friend”;
I thank you, leave, and as I go
The tears of joy rise up – I know –Your love for me, O Father-God,
Has flowed again – though route seems odd:
Way back – “The Beatles” paid their bills
To studio – those coffers filled –Until they bulged – then phone-call came,
“Will you invest to ease some pain,
As we develop CT scan
To guide the medic’s eye and hand?”They did, and now, results of that,
Are sliding pictures on my back
Of slices of my abdomen;
And now this news – I’m free again!But more – much more your gifts to me:
First, “Quiet Laugh” in which I see
Offense absorbed, release for me
Which aided my recovery –Of body, spirit, mind, and soul
(In cancer, all must be made whole) –
And in your laughing competence,
Absorbed, as noted, all offense.And in your parting words I see
A challenge placed in front of me:
“Stu, as you leave at Christmas time,
Leave all offense from this behind.”Okay, I hear – so I will do –
I have a deep respect for you,
And for your quiet competence,
And parting gift – “take no offense”.Thanks.
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