The Poet
I like him because he is young
Latino
gay.
He reads
his poems to us as if
he were stroking his lover
massaging and
caressing us with his words.
His poems drawing us together
pulling us in
inspired by
a basic human need
in all of us
for home, approval
family.
I hear
my neighbor’s labored breath
on my right
she is frail
and in need
of a good message right now
to ward off the dark
lonely
limits
of a decaying body.
I wait
for him to say
that it is OK
that all that I endured
endure now, is worth it
the memory of a cancerous life
the chemo cure.
Poison chasing poison
through endless nights
listening to the drip.
The nights
behind and ahead
the cold winter nights
while I lie awake
counting stars.
We listen to the poet’s uneven cadence
and pull the blanket higher
up under our chins
wrapping ourselves
in his encouraging words.
She listens, turns to me and nods
while he
directs the dose
and quickens our pulse
with a drug, that heals.
Inspired by Richard Blanco, appointed by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States. at a recent reading at SUNY Ulster.
Corney Press 