Herbert Rosenbaum
October 13, 2016
i see You:
in the recesses of Your mind:
dust in the corner; forgotten.
but someone is there –
Your eyes illuminate Your mental residence.
look! i can see into Your home – how beautiful and cozy!
they extend Your sincerest invitation for company
when Your words cannot,
and i am delighted to accept
and stay for tea.
a foreign language You speak;
i am told it is untranslatable –
“neological, slurred, and broken,” they say.
but they ignore Your smile – a universal code
which expresses Your childlike excitement
as You exclaim Your greatest revelation:
“two thimbles might fix the pipe leak
inside the cloudy mashed potatoes!”
let’s find the sewing kit, Sir,
and rejoice in today’s adventure.
time summons my presence. but such a pleasure to meet You!
and may i happily meet You again
for the first time tomorrow, as
i will inevitably disappear
among the lost firings of
neurons when You rest
Your head tonight.
sleep well,
my Dear
Friend.
one day You will be remembered as a Peacenik,
an Educator, Your wife’s Best Friend.
and maybe one day i will be remembered
as Your loyal mashed potato plumber sidekick…
but so long as Your home shines bright
and the company tea simmers quietly on the stove top
even when Your light dims
i vow to care for You, always.
View Editor's Comments Bio:
Herbert B. Rosenbaum, M.D. Class of 2017, is a proud native of San Antonio, Texas, an alumnus of The George Washington University, and a fourth year medical student at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. His medical interests include family medicine, primary care, geriatric medicine, medical politics, and end-of-life management. Mr. Rosenbaum urges his physician and medical student readers to start meaningfully addressing the elephant in the room (and perhaps American medical culture's biggest failure): death and dying - a common subject of many of his creative works and critical essays.